Misc.

Not much has happened in our neck of the woods. We’re enjoying (slightly) cooler weather by breaking out our sweatshirts only to shed them by noon when it’s in the 80’s again. There have been a couple of times that the temperatures have dropped to the forties at night and we’ve snuggled around a fire (Hey! Any excuse for some fire therapy is okay by me). In fact, that’s what we’re doing right now–enjoying some hot cider with a fire nearby.

Fall is my favorite season. I love to watch the beautiful colors come out. Sadly, there’s not much of that here in Louisiana, but we’re able to celebrate fall in other ways. For example:

Do yourself a favor and whip up some pumpkin muffins. Just mix a can of pumpkin with a box of spice cake mix and voila! Yummy fall treat.

Last night I watched a friend’s little one while she went to a concert at Ft. Polk. Her daughter and I had loads of fun creating fall decorations with paint!

Speaking of lazy fall days, I’ve even been able to catch up on some reading. It’s been amazing to be able to read books that I actually want to read. I had a week off from school this week and it has been glorious. My grades from last semester came in and I’m happy to report that the 4.0 still stands! For those of you who don’t know, I’m an idiot occasionally scatterbrained and turned in the wrong paper to my professor. Graciously, she allowed me to re-do it and still gave me a perfect score. Originally, she only gave me 20 points out of 200. I was so relieved with my new grade because otherwise I would have failed the class, dropping my GPA dramatically. Next class starts on Monday and I still haven’t received my school books. 😦 I’m going to be behind in the first week. It seems like I’m constantly behind now. It could have something to do with this little guy who is as cute as ever these days:

Completely worth it, though. I cannot tell you how much I love these bottles. After writing this post the other day, I randomly decided I would give nursing (directly) another try. I haven’t breast fed Baby K this way in over a month, but tonight I was in pain from hyperlactation and he was ready to eat so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try. I was sure that there was no way he would accept this form of feeding again, but he did. I was so happy! This gives me much more flexibility and I attribute it all to Tommee Tippee (and the brilliance of my small son) 😉 I’m now feeling much better and I think he is, too. He doesn’t seem to have belly troubles after feedings now, although he still spits up a bit.

I realize I just gave you a yummy recipe and then talked about baby puke in the next breath. I think that makes me a mommy blogger officially?

Stick around, y’all. One day I’ll post something riveting that will blow your mind. It’s just not today.

Try It Out Tuesday

I haven’t posted one of my try outs in quite some time, but after I tasted the yummy dinner I prepared last night. I knew today would be the day! Because let me tell you…

You’ve got to try this easy yet flavorful recipe!

I also finished the book I’ve been reading today so you’ll want to try that out, too.

Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Melted Mozzarella

Recipe print off options found here.  The best part? It’s low in calories and high in protein! If you click on the link, you’ll be redirected to Gina from SkinnyTaste.com. If you’re on weight watchers, it’s your lucky day because she provides the point information for many of her recipes.

I would never tell Captain J that what he consumed last night was good for him. He might not like it as much anymore! Of course, I added the pasta and bread, but the noodles were whole wheat! He really enjoyed it. I did, too especially because I just had some more for lunch today. It makes for tasty leftovers!

I’ve been cooking a lot more lately. In an effort to save time and money, I’ve begun to plan out our meals for each week and only make a trip to the grocery store one time. I despise the grocery store, but I will say that it is much more fun now that I’m printing coupons. I go to coupons.com and use their printable options. When I don’t find what I’m looking for there, I browse around google looking for specific product coupons. Target has a lot of great options, too for cleaning supplies and basic grocery necessities. It’s rewarding to see how much I have saved at the end of the receipt when I check out. Not only am I feeling better about saving a few dollars here and there, but I’m also impressing the Captain. I usually step outside my comfort zone of tasty country cookin’ to try to make a wide variety of meals he might enjoy. I think he’s really embracing this new side of me.

Enough about food, let’s talk literature…

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

This book by Beth Hoffman sat on my shelf for awhile, just waiting to be plucked from the masses of unreads in my lineup. It stole my heart! I’ve always been a sucker for southern literature. Here are a few quotes from others describing this novel:

“Anyone in need of a Southern-girl-power fix will find {this book} engaging.” – People

“Charming, disarming, sweet as the scent of magnolias on a Southern summer night.” – Mary Kay Andrews

and my favorite-

“A peach of a novel.” – Ladies Home Journal

I like the latter most because that’s exactly how I would describe it.

The main character and book namesake, Cecilia Honeycutt, had a troubled life. Growing up in the North with an eccentric mother who clung to her days of growing up in Georgia and the life she had built herself there as Vidalia Onion Queen left its toll on young CeeCee. When tragedy strikes her household, she has no where to turn and is forced to leave the only life she’s ever known to live with an aunt she has barely met.

CeeCee’s character is one of a very strong and sweet girl who is attempting to navigate through the mess of feelings she has for her mom and dad. Disappointment and embarrassment are not uncommon for her, but what evolves from her story is much different. Perseverance, love, and a little Southern hospitality help to change CeeCee’s world, yet again.

All the characters in the book are each interesting in their own way. Hoffman’s words leave you wanting to know more about each one. This is definitely a chick read, but it’s a good one all the same. Let me know if you try it out!

Love,

Just Another Day

I know you all gravitate toward my blog because of all the adventure and such (facetious much?)…

But I fear I would have to fabricate my stories a bit if I were going to tell you something crazy fun happened to me this week.

Instead of lying, I’ll just take you through my day to day- in pictures!

It usually starts out with some list making (my favorite!):

I also enjoy setting a cleaning timer. I get so much more accomplished that way! I’ll set my phone for 30 minutes and clean like a mad woman then take a break-

I can’t say that I’m looking my best during all this. So, sue me. It’s around this time in the afternoon when I start thinking about dinner. Hmm, what to fix? I found a crockpot (another fav!) recipe online so I hopped in the car as I was to pick up a roast.

I wish I was kidding. Stacy and Clinton would zero in on me if they had seen what I had on. Harry Potter shirts and pregnant bellies are just ten kinds of wrong. Oh, well. Any of these preparations look tasty to you?

If so, check out the recipe here.

I’ll tell ya…It sure was yummy!

After getting my to-dos squared away, I was off to the mall for a mani and pedi with a new gal pal (in a different, more acceptable ensemble). Of course, we’ll include a photo of Alto (Al Toe) and the finished product.

Now, I’m enjoying a little reality tv with my husband.

Just another day…

in paradise.

P.S. Like these photos? There’s an app for that! I recently downloaded Instagram on my iphone and I love it!

You know I like my (steak) chicken fried

In case you’re living under a rock, here’s The Pioneer Woman’s link. I had been perusing her blog for quite some time when my mom surprised me with her cookbook for Christmas.  Love it! She takes you through step by step without leaving imperative information out. Many cookbooks don’t smile kindly to the beginner in the kitchen. They use terms I’ve never ever heard of and I end up having to google how to do it. I shouldn’t have shared that. I guess you’ve figured out by now that I don’t try new dishes often.

I have an excellent excuse, though! My husband is a pretty darn good cook and he enjoys doing it- now why would I strip him of this joy for a single night?

Well, he works pretty hard, too. That’s why I decided to surprise him with some good ole comfort cookin’. Enter Pioneer Woman Recipes:

Chicken Fried Steak and PW’s Creamy Mashed Potatoes

I started off with the potatoes.

This is when I learned that you should probably take off the blue wrapping of the peeler so it works better 😉

Next ya got boil em!

Then drain and add all the yummy extras. Then voila!

Oh, yeah…don’t forget to mash them- like I forgot to take a picture of the finished potato product. This one will have to do, but I swear…this was one tasty treat!

Then it was time for the Chicken Fried Steak…and then the gravy, which used to make me shiver in my boots. I was scared to attempt it. My Mimi showed me how once, but that was a long time ago and I’ve slept since then. Never had I ever tried to make gravy by my lonesome. Anyway, I’m skipping a step. The following are the steak photos:

You’ll want to get some plates ready and then get ready to get your hands dirty! You’ll need all this and then some-

But all that mess will create these-

After the meat is cooked, PW says to drain the grease and put it off to the side. I did so, but I didn’t have nearly enough. I did what any good cook would do, I broke out the bacon!

The bacon helped create sufficient grease for the gravy and also served as a nice addition to the mashed potatoes. Now, add flour, milk,  salt, and pepper and you’ve got yourself a meal.

Bon appetite!

Can you believe I cooked all that on that old school stove?

Which reminds me, hey land lady…what happened to that new stove/oven unit you were going to install?! Oh, right…The whole world doesn’t read my blog.

But the whole world reads The Pioneer Woman’s, though. Go check her out!
Happy Cooking,

Over the weekend-

I love four day weekends! Captain J had Friday-Monday off of work so I had him all to myself. We had plans to go on adventures this weekend but that just didn’t happen. In fact, there was one day, spent in its entirety, in our robes! I don’t regret it. I haven’t exactly felt like hiking a couple miles to see anything except maybe a fully stocked refrigerator. Speaking of, I took a 10 week photo and I can’t believe how huge I look. Aren’t most people NOT showing much at this point? I can still hide my belly with loose fitting shirts, but I find (especially at night) that my baby bump is pretty prominent (See below!). Lately, I haven’t been feeling well at night. I’m clinging to the old saying, “It’ll get worse before it gets better.” The nighttime sickness is the “worst” part and in a few short weeks, I’ll be magically cured, rested, and full of energy. Right? 😉

Yesterday, I was really craving sweets so I whipped up some of The Pioneer Woman’s cobbler. It was so tasty and easy! The best part is, you’ll probably only need to buy fruit. It’s likely you already have the other ingredients required. I was especially proud to create a successful cobbler because last time I attempted it, I ended up with fruit floating in butter! J was not impressed. Turns out, self rising flour is key. All purpose flour doesn’t work despite the deceiving name! 🙂 Check out that recipe here (I used strawberry halves, raspberries, and blackberries instead). Captain J enjoyed it much more this time and actually ate more than I did. He’s not a sweets person so I’ll file this under “keeper”.

Perhaps the picture above contributes to the first picture? Nah! I just had a tiny bit. I’ve been trying to eat healthy for baby. The things I miss the most are sushi, herbal teas, deli meats, and coffee- not together, of course. Want to know what’s going on inside at week 10? I’m stealing this from the cute, soon-to-be Mom, Shannon:

Size of Baby:  1 1/2 inches- about the size of a prune

Total Weight Gain: 5 lbs- seems like too much but the nurse tells me to eat more!

Maternity Clothes: Not yet.

Gender: Everyone on my side seems to think Baby is a girl. I have no idea!

Sleep: As my belly grows, I’m feeling more and more uncomfortable at night. I just ordered a pregnancy pillow today so hopefully that will help. I get good sleep when I finally am able to drift off, but that usually takes awhile now because I’m usually feeling bad. Then there’s the unloading of the bladder every five minutes!

What I miss: Feeling like a person. I feel so bad throughout most of the day that I don’t feel productive..EVER. I also miss feeling pretty. I’m still trying to get used to this big belly and I try to remind myself that this is good for the baby and the doctor will tell me if I’m gaining too much!

Cravings: I don’t crave much. Typically, nothing sounds good- I just want to eat because I know if I don’t, I’ll feel even worse.

Symptoms: bloating, nausea, heartburn, and oh-so excited to see Baby

Next Appointment: February 2

What to Expect When You’re Expecting says this:

“…The elbows on baby’s arms are already working. Tiny buds of baby teeth are forming under the gums. Further down, the stomach is producing digestive juices, the kidneys are producing larger quantities of urine, and, if your baby’s a boy, his testes are producing testosterone…”

Try It Out Tuesday

Haven’t done this in awhile, ehh? Despite having a “me” day, I still got a lot accomplished. I think it’s this summer solstice. When it’s constantly gorgeous outside, I yearn to get out and be productive. After hanging out with these two cutie patooties-

and then spending time with this precious little dearie-

I decided it was time to get to work on a few chores around my house. I have a certain special visitor coming up to see me very soon so I cleaned the spare bedroom from head to toe. Then I got to work on my “dream board” that I’ve been wanting to do for so long. What’s a dream board, you may ask? Well, there’s an exhaustive definition over at my blog buddy Dutch’s page so why don’t you go check that out. In short, it’s a place to portray goals and dreams creatively. It’s a place of motivation. It’s a place to visualize what you want out of life and each day. Too hippyish for ya? Well, heck, for me it’s just another excuse for crafting 🙂 Here’s my final product (although I’m sure I’ll add more as I see fit):

On the dry erase portion, I plan to keep track of daily and weekly goals in regard to exercising, chores, watching what I eat, and bible verse memorizations. I’m excited. Think it’ll work? Anyway, TRY IT OUT! It is, at the very least, something for you to do when you’re bored.

Also, I wanted to post another low maintenance, super easy crock pot recipe if you’d like to TRY IT OUT. This ranch chicken recipe is very tasty and produces some excellent leftovers (this coming from the woman who thinks most leftovers are yucky)-

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons bacon seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• 1 (1 ounce) package hidden valley ranch dressing mix
• 1 (10 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 (16 ounce) package egg noodles, prepared

*Mix first six ingredients and pour over chicken in slow cooker. Cook on high setting for 3-4 hours or until chicken is done.

Ok, so I actually improvised and used what I had. Instead of bacon seasoning, I used bacon bits. I also just used a whole clove of garlic. Then I skipped the noodles and served it with mashed potatoes instead. This meal was very filling for the two of us so we had leftovers for today.

Did you try anything new today?