Marathon Cookin'

I wore myself out this weekend.  It was a good weekend but I am tired. As I finally sit down to type I realize how very weary I feel but I got a lot accomplished.  School begins in 18 days and I have mixed feelings on the matter.  I am excited for thestructure.  It wasn’t until my kids went to school that I realized how well they respond to a stable, structured schedule.  It helps me too because most things are predictable and schedule-able. It’s a word…maybe.

Anyhoo ~ I also want them around some kids.  They are so friend/people/kid deprived they’re starting to make me nuts.  They can’t for the life of them find anything to do so keep themselves busy.  The angst is escalating and we’re all pooped.  I am notlooking forward to the homework.  Homework is one of those things that make me wonder how a family does everything that needs done with more than 2 kids in the family.  Perhaps other peoples kids are so different than mine that it does work.  Maybe I’m morehands on. Doesn’t matter but I do wonder. 

Leads me to the purpose of this post.

I COOKED/BAKED MY BRITCHES OFF THIS WEEKEND!!!

I shopped until I was broke and then put most of it together.  Here’s what I made:

2 loaves applesauce bread
Froze 60 pigs in a blanket
Chocolate/chocolate muffins
Chocolate Chips
Butterscotch Chips
Froze 3 lbs Marinated in Teriyaki Sauce Chicken
Froze 2 lbs Marinated Lemon Pepper Sauce Chicken
Yeast Rolls
Prepared and Froze 30 individual Calzone Dough-rounds for either Calzones (duh..) or grilled pizza

What’s left:
Address a sack of potatoes (I see French fries and cubed, buttered and spiced potatoes in our future)
Address the big thing of strawberries
Cut up the lettuce for salads
Sort out and bag the Pork Chops (5 lbs worth)
Sort out and bag/burger the hamburger (I have 10 lbs to address)

And I think that is it.  WHEW!! It doesn’t seem like a lot when you list it out like that but MAN I was tired.  The cocoa powder rebelled at some point and with a poofy brown cloud coated me, the floor and my work space.  I had to mop after that becauseit was just a big mess.  I went through 5 lbs of flour, a dozen eggs, LOTS of sugar, 2 lbs butter and all the saran wrap I had left.  I just shopped and now need to restock. Do anything MARATHON related this weekend???

All Greased Up!!

My coconut oil showed up a few days after the vanilla beans and I am getting DOWN with my almost-going-organic-paying-more-attention-to-the-natural-side-of-things-self.  I made a foot scrub with some of the coconut oil. I tinkered around online and found www.simplehomemade.net/ and this woman is a new hero of mine. SO creative, and informative.  I learned many things from her and am smelling terrific.

Here’s what I did…..toss some sugar, regular ole granulated white sugar, some coconut oil  (or canola, or olive or grapeseed) oil and a few splashes of an essential Oil.  I used lavender and Grapefruit…separate of course, not brave enough yet to mix and waste something that comes out smelling like a big fat headache. 

I worked this stuff into my skin during a nice, relaxing shower and felt like a million bucks.  The oil soaks into the skin in a timely manner so while I call this post ‘All Greased Up’, I am not greasy at all.  My feet are in bad shape because I run bare footed as often as I can so yeah, I leave a lot to desire in the foot department. My toes are good, always painted and trimmed and pretty, just don’t turn those puppies over.  I got Jekyll and Hyde feet!!!

My kids also had gross pigs from a dry, dusty weekend of playing outside so I threw them into the tub and scrubbed them from head to toe.  They were put out with me but you gotta deep clean every so often and only a mothers love and her homemade scrubcan do the job well.  What about you? Make any homemade products??  What do you use for fragrance?  I like the idea of essential oil but struggle a little with the STRONG scent and apparently I am a ‘sweet smeller’ because I find it’s not sweet enough.  Makeany sense at all?  What do you use?  DO TELL…. 

Okay I put this picture at the bottom so as not scare you.  But you can't talk about exfoliating the feet without a disgusting visual of gross pigs!! These feet are not so much gross as they are weird.  Looks like weird baby fingers griping the deck.  I also wanna say THESE FEET ARE NOT MINE!  I promise. I'd never lie to you about such a thing or anything for that matter. 

Ugly As Homemade Soap

Did you laugh? I did! Ha! Homemade soap is ugly but I found a wonderful, local woman who makes homemade goat milk soap and she’s got them as prettied up as you can get ugly soap.  They are natural and wonderful and I feel terrific after a shower so I forgivethe appearance.  The soap I am referring to is laundry detergent. I got a wild hair Friday and decided to try and save a few bucks by exploring this idea. Come to find out it’s a NEW HOT TREND.

I am not trendy.  I don’t like trendy.  I don’t strive to be trendy.  I don’t get on PINTEREST at all but a good friend and reliable source tells me it’s a buzz out there….so. I found a recipe and the jury is still out on this stuff.  I am pretty sureI know where my problems with the soap lie, but need to consider a few things before I make a change or go back to the Tide Pods.

1st of all, my DRYER BROKE!!! I actually have 2 dryers. One that’s needing the heating element addressed and the other, an inheritance from my grandma.  It’s electric and we’re gaspeople so some finagling needs to be done before this dryer can work.  So for the last 2 weeks, everything has been line dried.  Even the socks are crunchy!!!  I’ll share the recipe and then blather on some more.

1 bar ivory soap, grated
1 cup borax
1 cup arm and hammer soap wash
Tea tree essential Oil

I call it ‘ugly soap’. 

I used 2 scoops of ugly in each load, line dried the laundry and voila!! Another week’s worth of laundry bites the dust. I made a TON of this ugly stuff and the supplies total (minus the oil) was just under $10.  So considering the cost of my beloved TidePods, I was thrilled at the savings!!  But I’m having some issues.  Of course. All I seem to have at times are issues.

THE EXPERIMENT:  A Smell Test. I know that’s weird but I can’t help it. I don’t want my laundry to smell like I dipped it into a stream, used ugly homemade soap and beat the stuff on a rock.  I washed a load of clothes in my ugly soap and a loadwith a Tide Pod and line dried them.  Both sets of clothes had a smell…but not of a fresh laundry detergent; it was kinda gamey.  Like an earthy, outdoor smell.  Not sure I am a fan of this smell because I notice it during the day. I turn my head and thereit is..essence of outdoorsy people…..but is it the ugly soap or the line drying. Hence the experiment. 

THE RESULT:  I am not sure of the source of the smell and if it has anything to do with the detergent as the ugly soap and the pods yielded the same outdoorsy fragrance.  Could be the absence of the dryer is allowing me to get in touch with my innerpioneer self and I am more spoiled and pampered than I realized.  The jury is still out. 

Other Problems:  Lent!!  The Hubby’s black work pants need a serious date with a lent brush.. At first we thought it was detergent that didn’t wash out but that was not the case. Bravo to the soap.  My dish cloths and towels aremisshapen but I am willing to overlook that as I do not wear dish cloths or towels.  This could also be the absence of the dryer causing me grief.  One final item of note is the appearance of some items to be barely clean to illustrate, Jacksonhad a MAJOR NOSE BLEED and soaked a wash cloth. I know it’s gross but we figure it out. Anyhoo this rag sat waiting to be laundered for about a week.  Hubby found it and ran it under some warm water and squeeze excess water out in an attempt to salvage thething.   I used the ugly soap and laundered and it was still gross.  Now again, is this the fault of the soap or is it just a neglected rag soaked in blood and my laziness AND no dryer…? 

So help a girl out, do you make homemade detergent?  Do you use essential oil in the mix? I did and it has a smell to it that I am not completely finding completely satisfying.  It’s STRONG. I love the fragrance of tea tree which I used in one of the batchesof soap and it’s just STRONG and not as sweet as I am used to.  Perhaps it’s the difference between fragrance and true oil. 

Dinner Menu August 1 - 12

Marathon Cooking yielded some wonderful results.  Here is my dinner *plan* for the next 2 weeks.  The last 2 menu plans have had a day or 2 here and there which we do not follow but THINGS HAPPEN, right!? A * next to the food name denotes somethingfrozen and ready to go!!

Wednesday, August 1
Root Beer Pulled Pork*, Mashed Potatoes*
Thursday, August 2
Tenderloins* and Fries*
Friday, August 3
Grilled Burgers*, Tossed Salad
Saturday, August 4
Hawaiian Ka- Bobs (chicken*), Green Beans*, Grilled Bread
Sunday, August 5
Popcorn Chicken*, French Fries*
Monday, August 6
Breakfast 4 Dinner (Bacon*)
Tuesday, August 7
Chicken and Rice Casserole*
Wednesday, August 8
Spaghetti*, Garlic Bread*
Thursday, August 9
Taco Buffet*, Chips and Salsa
Friday, August 10
Chicken* Salad Sammies, Tater Salad*
Saturday, August 11
Turkey Bacon* Club Sammies, Chips, Veggies and Dip
Sunday, August 12
Grilled Steak*, Veggies, Grilled Bread

Mmmm...Vanilla

LOOKIE HERE!! In an earlier post, I mentioned my desire to make homemade vanilla.  Well I got the Beans in the mail which, BTW smelled terrific. Vanilla candles can’t hold a …uh..candle?? to the smell of natural vanilla.  I took 2 750 ML plastic bottles of vodka, dumped some out to make room for the sliced beans and VOILA!!! Igive a shake once a day and it’s very very brown. I just can’t wait!! I think around Thanksgiving I’ll start the process of straining and bottling.  I have 2 people in my cross hairs to given small bottles as Christmas gifts.  Make your own Vanilla….?  Tell me….

Oh and again I have to plug for the peeps at Olivenation.com.  They were wonderful people despite my minor-turned-major clerical error AND on the vanilla bean packaging, I got a code for 20% off.  Yeah for me. More vanilla in my future. 

Table vs Sea Salt

Which is better?  Neither.  That’s it! That’s my post for the day.

Just kidding.

I asked this question because while browsing through Naturally Yours Grocery store, I noticed you can get a pound or sea salt for $1.68.  Good price.  I can also go to Aldi and get a pound of table salt for change.  So it begs the question, is Sea Saltsomehow healthier? Better???  According to mayoclinic.com chemically there is no difference between the 2.  Watch the sodium intake no matter which product yousubscribe to but know this. Iodine is a big deal, especially to your thyroid.  If you do not eat decent amounts of the following foods, you could put yourself at risk for low iodine and therefore a few random (yet fixable) health problems. 

Iodine Needs:  150 Micrograms (mgc) daily for anyone over age 14.  

Foods rich in iodine:
Sea Vegetables including Kelp, Arame, Hiziku, Kombu, and Wakame.  I’ve heard of Kelp and that’s because I secretly love Spongebob and he eats a cereal called Kelp-o.
1 tablespoon of kelp contains 2000 mgc.  WOW! Watch the kelp intake; I’m sure it will be a significant loss for ya.
Cranberries  - 4 ounces contains 400 mgc
Organic Yogurt – 1 cup contains 90 mgc.  What about Yoplait?? 
Organic Navy Beans – ½ cup contains 32 mgc
Organic Strawberries – 1 cup contains 13 mgc
Himalayan Salt – 1 gram contains 500 mgc. I actually laughed out loud when I read that b/c REALLY!!! In trying to explain 2 types of salt I’ve introducedanother one!! OH NO!!
Dairy Products – 1 cup of milk contains 55 mgc
Potatoes – With the skin, a medium sized potato contains 60 mgc

So bottom line, if you do not eat some of these foods or eat a supplemental vitamin use regular ole cheap table salt.  I gotta ask do any of you brilliant ladies use Himalayan Salt?  Is this something that is going to start a new trend in the quest tobecome insanely organic and healthy?????? 

Busted Lip

Another 'picture's worth a thousand words' moment featuring Jackson and a baseball.

Now That's One Happy Puppy!!!

Our Buddy turned 13 in April. He's nearly deaf and he is starting so stumble.  He is after all, an old puppy.  But this picture proves he's not lost his inner puppy.  This is the happiest dog!

Grilled Pizza

I've been reading lots of articles lately on grilled pizza and I'm finding this one universal truth...

Anything you can cook, you can grill.

So we did so with pizza and HOLY COW go-od eats.  Make any standard pizza dough you like.  Cut and roll into flat pizza disks and freeze.  I used a piece of waxed paper in between the individual pizzas.  It's easier to handle the frozen dough and does not change the cooking time, process or the texture of the dough.

Gather your ingredients ready to decorate the pizzas. VERY IMPORTANT because I found you have to boogie....the grill afterall is going and pizza is on-deck. 

Grill the dough on the first side until it is firm enough to take off grill with a spatula.

Decorate the COOKED side of the pizza. Load that baby up with all your favorites and side back onto the grill. Close the top and give it a while.  You can check the progress and not lose too much hot cooking air but the more you lift the lid, the longer it takes to cook.

The kids were silent through dinner wiht the exception of their rave reviews.  Give it a shot. Good family activity and something new to try. 

The dough pictured above was the ugly crust.  I ate it but it cooked up just as good as the professional looking pizzas the kids assembled below



Buddy go to enjoy the smells though I think he was slightly honked off at us for having such fabulous food and not sharing even a bite!!

Coconut Oil on Deck with Tropicaltraditions.com

I didn’t mess up the ordering of the coconut oil but wanted to tell you about a MAJOR SALE they are having. I’ve never ordered from these people NOR have I even tried coconut oil but at the time I ordered, they are having a 42% off sale!  I’m no fool..that’s almost ½ off!!!!!  So I took full advantage and my quart of coconut oil left their warehouse and is en route to me.  I paid $27.07 with shipping.

I go out to tropicaltraditions.com again today to validate my information above and I see this!!!! BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!!! On July 26th only.. HOLY MESS that’s 2 for 1.  Take advantageeven if you are uneducated because this site will educate you. Now go on out there and tinker around and educate yourself.  There’s a wealth of testimony and data to support claims that coconut oil totally rocks!

I will certainly keep YOU up-to-date!  In the  meantime tell me if you use coconut oil and how you like it and what you do with it and help me with my continued education of coconut oil!

Homemade Vanilla on Deck with Olivenation.com

Well I’m taking the next steps toward healthier, whole (GOOD) foods eating.  I ordered Vanilla Beans from olivenation.com and a quart of Coconut Oil from Tropical Traditions.  I am SO EXCITED to get my packages I can’t even stand it!! I plan to make homemadevanilla with the beans as I use A LOT of Vanilla. I thought if I were successful in my quest, I have some Christmas gifts for family and friends on deck that really speak to my love for them..something homemade and wonderful. 

The vanilla beans did not come to me easy.  The USPS part of the ‘coming to me’ will be easy because the little dude is just gonna show up and say ‘Here Mrs. Brunner…..a package for ya’.  BUT Ordering was not simple.  It’s because I’m a dork.  It’s nosecret but YEAH I SAID IT!  I keyed in my zip code wrong and it boogered up the CC info and billing address because they did not match. I had the poor olive nation guy so frustrated with me but you know that…

ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY!!!  Here’s why.  He called me.  He was kind. He stayed 45 minutes past his own quitting time for my mistake.  I got my order with free shipping (standard for olivenation vanilla beans, BTW) and found a renewed confidence in ‘callour support center for assistance.’  SO  many times the call ends in frustration and this was a wonderful experience.

Jumping for Joy

Scroll Down for the Story:  

I talked briefly about our trip to Fair Oaks Farm in northwestern Indiana but in the context of the yummy yet handsomly priced food. Well, now I will talk about the adventure and link up with Jennifromtheblog.com. This picture made me smile because it's sheer bliss on that childs face. Such a magical thing. 

Ciabatta Grilled Cheese

This last week we took the kids to Fair Oaks Farm in northwestern Indiana. The place was incredible.  Here is a link, read all about it.  The important thing to walk away with is.

GRILLED CHEESE

Wonderful place. Very scenic, very environmentally friendly, very good milk, very expensive.

The grilled cheese for which they are famous is about $6 each.  Bread and cheese. Yikes.

Got me thinking, INVENT MY OWN!!  So I did. 

Ciabatta bread, butter a skillet, split that roll, layer with as much cheese as you want and any kind that goes good together (I used a variety including cheddar, swiss, provalone and pepper jack).  Add a tomato if you wanna and cook like a regular ole grilled cheese EXCEPT you need to flatten those babies. Grab your metal spat and SMASH it.  Believe me it's better if you do.  

These were as good as the ones down on the farm and much less expensive.  Spice up a plain old something by trying something new.  Everyone loved it!!

Mexican Bean and Rice Casserole

Boy did I stumble onto a real gem!!  Makes me want to grab my maracas and shake 'em!!!!

2 cups cooked rice
2 cups salsa
2 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 C chopped sauted onions (I used butter)
1 cup cheese, divided

Mix all 4 ingredients together with 1/4 cup of cheese. Bake at 350 in an 8x8 sprayed pan for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake an additonal 5 to 10 depending on how dark you like your cheese. 

I had another idea as I was eating this as a side with my taco.  Make a mexican lasagna out of it layering the casserole and corn tortillas......YUMMY!!!

Fresh/Frozen Green Beans

I went to a local farmer’s market with the kids last Thursday and had some of the best Pizza of my life. I am not sure what the secret is but I’d like to have it.
Anyhoo ~ I bought about 3 pounds of fresh green beans and am not a canner. Not because I do not want to be but because I do not know how. It’s not something I’ve had a chance to tinker with yet, but it is on my bucket list.

Here’s what I did.

Snap the beans. 9 year old girls are ALWAYS eager to help with this task EVEN if they like the canned green beans better than fresh. I tell you, they’re strange in the food department. 





Heat pot of water to boiling; a good solid rolling boil. Place thegreen beans into the water and set a timer for 3 minutes.

Dump the cooked beans into a strainer and dip strainer into cold water which your helper is dumping ice cubes into.  This stops the cooking process obviously, so your beans do not get soggy and icky.
Label your bag, load your bag and freeze your bag after you’ve squeezed all the air out to ensure no freezer burn steals your beans.
Thaw OR NOT……add some water to your pot, add beans, heat, add butter, salt and pepper and voila!! Healthy beans fast.
Now I wish I had about 20 more pounds of beans so I can get through the winter. Another item on the already plastered full ‘to-do’ list.

Dinner Menu July 16 - 31

Even the best laid plans can suddenly collapse without warning but in my case, it was not a collapse as much as it was the bubbling up of a few events that were sup-duper causing the menu plan for the last rotation to get all out of whack. Soooooooo…….you will see some repeated items and that is why.  * Indicates items I have frozen for ease. 

Monday,  July 16
Taco* Buffet, Chips and Salsa
Tuesday, July 17
Soup and Sammy Night (kids do the ‘cooking’)
Wednesday, July 18
Grilled Pork Chops*, Mashed Potatoes*, Green Beans*
Thursday, July 19
Breakfast* (sausage) 4 Dinner
Friday, July 20
Chicken* and Veggie Ka-Bobs
Saturday, July 21
Grilled Pizza, Fruit
Sunday, July 22
Blackened Tilapia*, Grilled Corn-on-the-Cob, Salad
Monday, July 23
Breakfast 4 Dinner
Tuesday, July 24
Bacon* Cheese Burgers*, Homemade French Fries*, Salad
Wednesday, July 25
Build your own Subway (my kids are BOTHERING me constantly about eating at Subway.  Not sure about this obsession but we’re going to be out own sammich artists!!), Chips, Cottage Cheese
Thursday, July 26
Steak*, Veggies and Bread all on the Grill
Friday, July 27
Beef* and Noodles*
Saturday, July 28
Thanksgiving in July (Chicken*, Mashed Potatoes*, Green Bean Casserole, Rolls, Punkin Pie)
Sunday, July 29
Laughter, Love and Leftovers (AKA Thanksgiving X2!!)
Monday, July 30
Cowboy Burgers*, Homemade French Fries*, Cottage Cheese, Salad
Tuesday, July 31
Burgers and Brats on da Grill, Green Beans or Corn, Veggies and Dip

Progress on July 4th - Homemade Ice Cream

Need I say more?? Here's the recipe. 

3 C Sugar
3 C Whole Milk
6 C 1/2 and 1/2
1T Vanilla
**I added a jar of strawberry topping and made a yummy strawberry ice cream**

Toss into a mechanical (lazy) ice cream maker and voila!

OKAY I HAD PICTURES BUT CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHERE I PUT 'EM!!!!!  Gee that is upsetting.  I will keep looking for them and post once I locate them.  Sorry!

Progress on July 4th - The Drive-In

About 50 miles from here is one of 400 some surviving Drive-In movie theaters.  There was not a double feature but there are 2 screens where you could choose. We watched Brave. It was SO CUTE! Not what I thought it was going to be.  This was a new experience for all of us as I have not been to a drive-in since I was like 5...we watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and I screamed my head off when the giant ball went rolling after Dr. Jones.  It was time to go home. 

The kids did good considering the heat.  We took the cushions of the couch and used them in the back of the van where we had removed the last row of seats. It worked well.

The sad part of this dying past time is this theater in particular needs to upgrade to a digital system before the end of 2012 or it too will be extinct.  Bummer because this is good, clean, family fun. You can take a grill and BBQ, you can bring in pizza and any other food item you choose. They do not prohibit you from bringing the food you already paid for. 

Many of you do not live near me or care about this story but if I've by chance inspired there is a site where you can donate to save this theater.  They raise the funds, they purchase the digital equipment and voila!! Another success story. View this link to donate.  Thanks!  Happy 4th weekend everybody!!

Okay I said we watched Brave and we did but there is another Monster's Inc coming out sometime in 2012...this was the preview, I promise!  :-)

We Don't Need No Stinking McD's!!

My kids LOVE fast food. Not sure why because it really is somewhat nasty; especially at the rate which they wish they could eat it.  Well tonight I tried another idea from Laura.  I love her. Have I mentioned that!? 

Bru'Nuggets and Fries.  Here are the pictures.  Jackson gagged on the chicken because he's gone and convinced himself there is something hidden in there...there isn't of course, but mind over matter, right!?

Progress on July 4th - The Fireworks

Typically we have some fireworks we let smell up the neighborhood but we opted to let someone else absorb the risk (it's so hot and dry) and expense of providng the fireworks. Last year we stayed local and just drove down the way and camped out on the side of the road.  It was okay.  I mean they lasted about 10 minutes and it took longer to get home because everyone races for their cars to get home. 

This year we decided to get some friend referrals.  There's an itty-bitty town about 14 miles from us that was referred.  I googled the town and come to find out celebrating the 4th is somehting they're a sorta famous for.  There are parades, carnivals, products to sell and of course, fireworks ends the festivities.

Okay the fireworks were amazing.  They lasted a full hour.  I am going to sound terrible saying this but I was pooped after about 30 minutes.  I guess I don't have the firework-stamina I thought I had!  We left about 10 minutes before the explosions concluded and oculd see them from the highway. It was beautiful.  Bravo to the peeps in the town of Chenoa.  They put on a fireworks display like I've never seen.

I've been playing with the settings on my camera so some of the pictures are blurry. 

A Weird Brunner Side-Note:  I am watching these fireworks happy and content and feeling reasonably patriotic when I look over at my dear ink-covered hubby.  He's mumbling to himself.  I am wondering what he's thinking but suspect I know.  FYI ~ We are on a tight budget.  So tight that sometimes it works and sometimes it just doesn't. 

So I ask.  He says directly following each explosion '30 dollars....'  BOOM, '50 dollars...' BOOM 'that was a big one....80 dollars...' 

 I was thinking the exact same thing. 

Progress on July 4th - The Cookies

Early in the am before the sun heat up the outside to the inferno it became (103 regular temp, minus heat index) we baked cookies.  The recipe I used was on the side of the bag of sugar.  I did it all wrong. I failed to read instructions until after I had everything dumped into the bowl.  You were supposed to mix in a particular order. I also didn't roll into a ball and let sit in the fridge for an your.

The cookies were go-od! 

I did take pictures I promise but for some reason am not able to locate them.  It's going to bug me until I figure out what I did.  Anyhoo ~ The recipe I have not lost...at least not yet. 

1 C Sugar
1 C Softened Butter
1 Egg
1 T Vanilla
2 1/4 C Flour
1tsp Baking Soda

Mix and drop in blogs on cookie sheet.  Cook at 375 for 12 minutes.  Mmmm......

Ever Done This??

Please tell me you have.  It makes me feel better. 

Do you flip for the Expensive Ink or refill your own? – A Lesson Learned

Weird question UNLESS you know where I am going with this.  My dear hubby is a penny-pincher too.  He will go out of his way to save a few bucks whenever possible.  So he opted to fill his own ink cartridges with one of those refill kits you can buy at any *mart store.  So he proceeds to read the instructions to be successful (which is not always done).  Not a big reader of instructions but given that he’s handling messy stain-filled ink, he reads.  He follows the instructions.

Something goes wrong and BLAMMY!!!! 

He won’t allow me to get a picture of his face which is really the best part.  I do have a partial shot of some of the damage done.  He looks like a puppy who got into something he should not have and now he’s all stained and matted and couldn’t hide the evidence if he tried.

Moral of the story, flip for the already filled ink cartridges.

Little League Blessings

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!


BOY AM I GRATEFUL, thankful, relieved, disappointed and happy with little league.  The last game of the season was last night.  This was the final tournament game.  My boys’ team won.  Need Isay more.

It’s been hotter than a hornet here and the games have become a burden, a slight one but I find myself forcing excitement simply because Jackson is ready to go out and sail one over the back fence. BUT last night something happened.  I leave the house and say bye to my poor doggie who also has been suffering the heat and mentally note the oppressive feeling as I lean over to wish him well.  I get to the ball game not 20 minutes later and notice I feelpretty okay.  The lead jacket that I had on at home must have fallen off because dare I say it was ‘nice’ out? 

Yes it was nice. The moon was showing a decent sized orange ball in the eastern sky and the wind picked up.  Over to the south it started to cloud up but in the darkened sky (it was about 9pm)you really couldn’t see much definition in the clouds….until it would lightening a brilliant orange flash!
It was TOTALLY COOL!!!! 

I thank God for allowing my boy to flex another kind of muscle by playing  baseball, to have a chance to work with a group of different kids, to provide to us one major struggle this season thattogether as a family we worked out and grew from and for a dreaded night to end up so mysterious, magical and full of joy.  I love being put in my place. I always get the most wonderful gifts in return!

July 4th Plans??????

The Brunner family was slated to camp this weekend but with record heat and burn bans all around, we felt it be a good choice to NOT camp.  Leaving my 9 and 11 year old very ACTIVE kids staring at me asking 'well then what ARE we going to do!?'  We've been going through a thing lately where they are completely incapable of figuring out how to spend their time. They rely on my dear hubby and I to entertain them.  With both of us working full time, food to cook, house to clean and gobs and gobs of laundry, it's hard to get everything.  Lucky for the kids we feel an obligaton to play.  They are to play with their kids and love them and give their time even when they are tired.  So they will get that from us.  Not a ton of it but some. 

So here is a list of what we could possibly work in between Wed July 4 and Sunday 8.  I am taking Thursday and Friday off to make a nice, long weekend out of it which I am SO excited for!!!

• Family Scrabble (so much fun!)
• Water Balloons.  They want to re-create the experience from before and I am so excited because I made a dent in their memory bank.  So happy for that. 
• Cook and Frost festive 4th of July sugar cookies
• Homemade ice cream...mmmmmmm......
• Homemade bubbles (when I locate the recipe, you will have it!!)
• Fireworks (we have some leftover from last year)
• Family Movie Night.  Movie TBD
• Smores (hopefuly with a controled fire. We got a smidge of rain yesterday but not enough to erase the potential problems.
• Start to plan our ground house.  It's not a tree house, but a ground house.  My suspicion is it ends up looking like a giant chicken house made of scrap wood. That's okay though. I've been flirting with getting a few chickens and try my hand at some amature farming. 
• Swimming
• Start our Tombstone Tales...yeah..more to come on that!  :-)

We're also going to spend some time doing things which need to be done:

• Mop all Floors
• Read 30 minutes per day
• Laundry..ugh. yes. Unless we go naked there will always be laundry to address
• Possibly another round of marathon cooking. I still feel like there is more that could be done
• Walk our Puppy Doggie even though it's hot
• Fix the Wii b/c something is wrong with the console...grrrrr...

What are YOUR plans for the 4th!? What do you do to celebrate?  Can I copy and use some of your ideas? I am starting to run out, so I am almost typing from my knees.  Happy Holidays.

Marathon Cooking July 1, 2012

Along with my menu planning comes a marathon cooking session.  Boy did I destroy my kitchen this weekend. it's curently about 107 in the shade and I felt there was nothing better to do anyway.  So cooking, cleaning and laundry are on the list.  Here's what I made this weekend.  I sill have not done a freezer inventory which I badly need to. I've had that beloved freezer for a while now and think I know what is in there and as I dig through, I find items I've forgotten about.  Here goes....

4 lasagnas (la-la-la-la-la-sagna)
5 meal sized spaghetti sauces (meat, tomatoes, tomato sauce and some spices)
2 portions of homemade noodles (preparing for Beef and Noodles and Thanksgiving in July)

**Scary thing to me is a baggie of homemade noodles resembles a brain. I never said a word because the last thing I need from these kids is another reason to not eat what I cook.**

For breakfast I made ugly, blue pancakes. They all gobbled them up.  They looked gross to me so I stuck with coffee. 







Cheesecake

Veggie Mac-N-Cheese






Brownies with butterscotch and chocolate chips

V8 Smoothie Popsicles
Literally V8 Fusion juice frozen. 
I'll let you know how that turns out!!

Dinner Menu June 30 - July 15

I indicated in a previous post why I menu plan.  Have you just started menu planning yourself? Are you a veteran planner and have any advice for us newbies!?  I don't know how to spell Ruffie in Orange Ruffie below but I am going to stick with this right or wrong.  I try and make this proces fun and tossing in a misspelling every now and again is a-okay!!

Saturday June 30
Grilled Pork Chops*, veggies, Potatoes*
Sunday July 1
Beef and Noodles*
Monday July 2
Breakfast 4 Dinner (bacon, eggs, toast and some BLT's)
Tuesday July 3
Turkey Bacon* Club Sammies, Chips
Wednesday July 4
Grilled Steak and Fresh Veggies and Dip
Thursday July 5
Chicken* Salad Sammies, cottage, sliced cheese, celery, carrots and dip
Friday July 6
Hamburgers*, Hot Dogs and Brats on the grill, various sides (I can't decide!!)
Saturday July 7
Cowboy Burgers (Grilled BBQ Chicken Breast*, provalone cheese and bacon..mmmm...)
Sunday July 8
Crockpot Ham* and Noodles*
Monday July 9
Breakfast for Dinner (french toast, sausage, fruit)
Tuesday July 10
Taco* Buffet (fun, you outta try it. The kids LOVE IT!)
Wednesday July 11
Soup and Sammy Night (chicken noodle soup and whatever sammy you'd like)
Thursday July 12
White Trash Frozen Pizza (WTFP)* and Breadsticks
Friday July 13
Thanksgiving in July****  I have intended to for almost a decade now, to do a Thanksgiving in July because to only havce turkey one or 2 times per year AND at the end of the year is silly!! Turkey is a wonderful meat and should be consumed on more than just 2 special occasions. 
Saturday July 14
Turkey and Noodles and Thanksgiving in July Leftovers
Sunday July 15
Orange Ruffie (I have no sides selected yet but my guess is baked potatoes and green beans)