A Labor of Love

Ahhhh. Things to love now:

1. The fact that our windows are open and a fresh, clean breeze is coming inside.

2. The fact that we have had three days of time together spent doing things other than working or trying to stay cool.

3. The fact that I think....just think...that fall might be here:)

Shawn and I have had a fantastic, laid back weekend. Since school has started, days that were once full of thorough cleaning, pie baking and pondering around TJ Maxx have now turned into days of cleaning enough just to be sanitary, trying to decide on what variety of Hamburger Helper to make tonight and running in and out of stores trying to get the essentials of that moment. Yes, school has started, and while I still can say that I enjoy my job (most days:)) it sure does change the pace of life in our household.

However, Lydia maintains the same pace year round..

Onry..

And content with windows (that are now open)

So, this past weekend came at a great time. 

Saturday, we were lucky enough to have tickets to go to the KU Game (provided by my lovely father).
It was pretty exciting. Five minutes after sitting down, we, along with the other 40,000 people in the stadium, where asked to evacuate and seek temporary shelter for lightning. I know, grand, huh?


But, after the rain, came the sun and then a nice, relaxing night of football.

Oh yeah-and we won! Shawn and I really enjoy going to football games, which is a lot for me because watching football requires A LOT of attention from a restless person like me. I told Shawn that I would not mind having season tickets one day-as long as we could start tailgating too:)

On Sunday, we decorated up our front porch a bit. We added some plants and Shawn cleaned up the yard.We have decided to really start small this fall and do a few things here and there. We will probably mostly stick with pots as far as flowers go. We also are focusing on the front yard, but will probably take a Saturday soon as at least dig up and clean up our back yard.

But for now I think it looks cozy and cute.


I am very excited about this weather. I am starting to think about the things coming up...fall, pumpkins, Halloween,bike rides, our anniversary (1 year-crazy!!!), weddings to go to, Thanksgiving, hot cider, fall colors, jeans and hoodies, Christmas shopping, snow, breaks from school, Christmas parties and music...this is our favorite time of the year. I am ready.

I hope everyone enjoys the gorgeous weather this week!!!

Speeding Along

Hi!

It's been a while since I have last posted (I know all 3 of you who read this are just waiting in anticipation:)). Since I last wrote, I have been pretty busy at work. School is in full swing!!! It's going to be a great year, but it takes a while for me to get used to the school-routine again. I am trying to build my energy back up-so far I think I could go to sleep at 7 every night if I allowed myself:) I have to admit I am already kind of glad that we have a long weekend coming up.

I am also still working on finishing up my classroom (there is still stuff everywhere, so I think I will wait a while before posting those)

However, I am a very proud wife after this weekend! Shawn ran in the Heartland Group Track Club Meet this past weekend. He ran the 100 meter and 200 meter dash and placed 1st in his age group:)

This was also the first track meet I had ever been to period. I learned a few things, like 1)its going to be hot 2) bring something to sit on 3) video-tape the meet because things happen too quick to take pictures

Here are a few pics I did manage to get though:

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. ~Joyce Brothers

These past few weeks leading up to the beginning of school have been WONDERFUL:) We have had lots of family visit and have gotten to spend some time together.

However, we also recently have had a little family scare. Lydia had a really bad reaction to one of her routine vaccines and had to go to kitty hospital. Taking her to the vet and checking her into the hospital was honestly one of the worst things I have ever done-it really felt like I was taking my little baby to the vet.

Then, when I got home, it was nothing but depressing. All I noticed was how there was no one to greet me and run at my feet when I got home, no one to climb into the pots and pans cabinet when I was cooking, and no one to come lay on my lap as I watch Big Rich Texas. It was an absolutely miserable day.

Its like the old saying goes-you don't know what you got till its gone-and by having Lydia gone for a day, I realized what an important blessing she is in my life. Luckily, she recovered overnight and was able to go home the next morning:)

So, after weeks of seeing family and missing the absence of a special member of our family, I continue to reflect upon how important it is to have family as a daily, eternal part of your life. I never want to miss another play or purr session with my baby girl:) When I think more about balance and how to constantly juggle work, home, personal time etc, I have found that while I sometimes regret choosing to go into my classroom on a Saturday, choosing to watch another episode of that TV show I have already seen or choosing to clean that room for the fourth time that week, I never regret making time for family:)

Especially gray, furry members of the family

Fried Fun

And the cooking extravaganza continues!

Yesterday (Tuesday) my lovely mom came down to help me move into and set up my new (and huge classroom).

I will get to the fried part in a minute.

Before I proceed, let me first share one of Lydia's premiere laying out spots in our house.

She doesn't come down when called, praised or commanded.

She only comes down for two things....

Friskies cat treats or a can of tuna-aka food. Just like her mama:)

Anywho, my mom and I went into my classroom to do some organizing and decorating. This is what we started with:

And its still a work in progress. So, soon I will reveal some after pics:)

Then, we decided to make some chicken friend steak...yum yum











Chicken Fried Steak (supper easy-thanks mom, I have a feeling I will be making this often)

Ingredients:

beef cube steak
bread crumbs
saltine crackers
2 eggs
milk
cooking oil

Combine cracker and bread crumbs.
Put oil in fry pan and let it get hot on low heat
Beat egg with milk
Dip meet in egg mixture. Press meat into crumbs. Coat well.
Add meat to pan with oil. Brown on each side.

I am really enjoying this cooking streak I am on. I recently read how everyone needs a creative hobby-perhaps mine can be cooking? I think its the eating part I enjoy the most though:)

Hope everyone stays cool this week-I am sooo sick of heat!!!

A weekend of baking

On Friday, Marilyn came down to see our Casa, and we ended up baking and cooking all day Saturday. We first made some delicious coffee cake (which I had always wanted to make)

 Followed by a peach pie, made with homemade crust, not the frozen crust I had to resort to in the past. Hopefully I can use the pie crust demonstration to make my own from scratch!

It was delicious!

We also made some twice baked potatoes, which I didn't take a picture of. I was too busy eating pie:)

"Cooking is at once child's play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love."

La Recipes:

Coffee Cake
2 1/2 Cups of Flour
3/4 C sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 c salad oil
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix together and put aside 1/2 cup to crumble on top.

Mix the rest with:
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 tsp soda
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

Bake in cake pan at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.


Peach Pie
Prepare pastry for peach pie (8 inch pie)
Sliced peaches (about 4 cups)
1 tsp lemon juice
2/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp margarine

Heat oven to 375. Prepare pastry. Prepare peaches and lemon juice. Mix sugar, flour and cinnamon, stir into peaches. Turn into pastry-lined plate. Dot with margarine. Cover with top crust and cut slits in it, seal and flute. Bake until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble-1hour to 1 1/2 hours. Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil to prevent burning.

Two Newbies:)

Today I made two new dishes at the same time.

I sound like I really accomplished something but really I just put together a simple casserole and a pie that did not require baking. But the fact that I multi-tasked in the kitchen itself is a feat! There is only one true blip in the whole story...

Today, since my extra days of experimenting in the kitchen are numbered, I decided to make a different version of my new favorite chicken dish, Chicken Divane, and a new dessert-Pink Lemonade Pie (recipe provided by Marilyn-thank you very much:))

So, I first started with the chicken. I know I have blogged this recipe before but I am blogging it again to tell you how good and easy it is. Also, this time I added potatoes to it.

So I cooked the chicken first.

Then I chopped up the chicken. I also drained two cans of potatoes.

You could probably peel and add regular potatoes, but recently Shawn and I have discovered a cheap and sometimes tasty potato alternative-canned potatoes. My first impression was eerie grossness, but we have used them to make camping potatoes and now I am using them in this dish.

For the sauce, you combine 1/2 cup mayo, 1 cup or more of cheese, 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice and 1 can of cream of chicken soup.

Then, in a casserole dish you layer potatoes, chicken, sauce and then sprinkle cheese on top. You bake at 350 for 30 minutes!

And it was a hit with the husband:)

For the pie, I first was faced with the feat of making a pie crust. This is where the blip occurred. After three attempts, I decided I was not cut out for homemade pie crust. So I went to Wal-Mart and bought a frozen one:) Oh well, my feelings aren't too hurt:)

Anyways, you beat together a package of cream cheese, 1 container of thawed frozen Pink Lemonade concentrate, and one container of whipped topping. Then you spoon it into the crust, freeze for 20 minutes and then chill until serving.

In the end, it came out kind of runny, but was another hit with the husband:)

Funny cats

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IytNBm8WA1c

Watching this made me feel assured that my cat isn't the only completely psycho cat in the world:)

And it made me want another kitty:)

Ideas on Decorating

Something that is so nice about summertime, and about working part-time, is that it gives me time to think. During the school year, I am lucky if I have the energy some days to think about what to make for dinner, much less bigger things such as how to decorate my house. So, I am using these last few weeks of summer to really think about how I want to eventually decorate the rooms in my house. Of course, as all homeowners know, my ideas will probably change before I have time to act on them, or will change after I put them into place. But, in order to get the ball rolling and to make use of my extra time, I am going through each room in my house and just thinking...

And for the record, I am not going to include outside in this brainstorming session. Its too hard to walk outside, much less stand outside and think, so I am just going to save that for another post...

Living Room
Our living room is our favorite room in the house and the house where we spend most of our time. I love our neutral colors, and I like keeping things simple, yet decorative. I already love how we have set up our bookshelves and the layout of our furniture, but there are a few things I want to update:

A new TV stand??? (after a several hour long debate with my husband, I really think I would like a new, wood TV stand) I don't know though...

A mirror that goes above the couch

A new lamp (this one I have is on its last dying breath)

A new decoration for our foyer table. Heavy flower arrangement + cat who jumps on everything = knocking over of vase onto wood floor, cracking nice hardwood floor. Soooo, this new decoration has to have some thought and catproofing.

A way to hide outlets and cords-I hate it when outlets and cords so..so I am working on cute ways to hang them all up

A scent system for my living room. I LOVE scent and I like it strong (several times I go overboard and force Shawn into a coughing spell) So, I would like to get some kind of decorative scent system that will make my living room smell yummy:)

Dining Room
Like the living room, I already love my dining room as if,but have a few ideas...

A corner table? I am sure sure what it will hold, but a nice wood one could be cute.

A buffet up against the wall (I love buffets and china cabinets) I would like to get one with storage to hold placements, chargers etc)

A continuous update of a cute floral centerpiece- I love the idea of having fresh flowers on the table!

And all of these items will need to be catproofed, meaning no breakable items places on top that could damage my wood floor

You darn cat:)


Kitchen
I love my kitchen:) I spend a lot of time, there, and wouldn't change a thing.

Garage
My lovely husband took care of that. That is his domain.

Our Bedroom
So, this is the largest bedroom I have ever had. I love it already, but here are some thoughts:

Seating in the vast empty corner. Maybe adding a lounge chair in the corner?

Decorating in the window area. At first I was thinking about a window seat, but I don't think I would really use it. Now I am thinking maybe an old trunk, a way to stack old books...just some decoration stuff...it's my most puzzling area thus far.

A photo collage to the left of the TV-some photos of me and the hub:)

Upstairs Hallway

I want to add some friends and family pics. and perhaps a nice painting (to make us look worldly)

Guest bedroom


I am not sure yet...I want it to be cozy and inviting...we will just have to see.

So, over the months we will just have to see how far I get and how it all changes. I am not sure if I should go room by room or do a little in each..we will just have to see. I will be showing makeover pics soon!! Consider these some before pics:)

Another picture collage by Smilebox