The FOOD Thing (((sigh))) Rosemary Lemon Chicken and Yemeni Rice

Ok. I am here. I am here to post my promised food thing. I am going to be very frank and say that I can honestly admit that I don't see myself sticking to something like this on a regular basis. At all. Unless I carefully schedule it into my life and prepare very very carefully. Maybe I will get better at it but I am such a retard when it comes to to doing something, I want to do it RIGHT and I had my daughter take the photos and my lord we had SEVENTY THREE pictures of ME COOKING A STINKIN CHICKEN!!! Needless to say I am one week and one day late and it's been weighing so heavily on my mind to GET IT DONE it's making me crazy. So here goes...and from here on out, no promises. You get what you get. So be happy. ;)

First of all let me explain that I have 2 gadgets in my kitchen that I love. One is a rotisserie and the other is a rice cooker. The rice cooker is a fairly new addition because I have a ceramic stove top that I DESPISE and had too many burned batches of rice so the hubster was so thoughtful to bring me this great contraption to assist me. I love it. Simply because I can put everything on to cook, then I can go do my thing. Like blog. (sure) But I do like to clean the kitchen, set the table, cut up veggies, and so forth while dinner is cooking and I feel very productive and secure that our meal will be cooked thoroughly in a reasonable amount of time. So. If you don't have either of these, or you only have one, I will try to include an improvised method to achieve the same results. :)

I'm going to start with the chicken.
Ingredients:

One whole chicken with guts removed
Fresh rosemary (mine is stolen from my neighbor's yard, forgive me Lord)
Fresh garlic (3 cloves peeled and minced)
Sea Salt
One lemon
Black Pepper

Here is a photo of the sea salt I buy at Costco. My son painted these darling little salt and pepper shakers so I thought I would share...but I do use a black pepper mill for fresh ground pepper in all my cooking.

The key ingredients: lemon, stolen rosemary, and garlic

This is a garlic press in case you are not aware. I could not live without it and it is best to invest in a good one. Please do not buy the "good cook" brand at your local grocery and expect to be happy with it. Just sayin'.

And here are the fat little garlic cloves all peeled and ready to be minced!

Here I am doing my most favorite (NOT) thing in the world to do. Removing the innards of the chicken. This right here can convince me to be a vegetarian for life. I promise, I say it every time but then when the chicken comes out of the rotisserie all dripping and crispy I always change my tune.

After removing the guts, squeeze the lemon juice all over the guy. He will love it.Then salt him generously. He might yelp a little during this process because salt can burn especially right after the lemon wash but it will be ok.

After that I stuff the lemon halves into the body cavity. (that way he doesn't suffer from malnutrition during the cooking process)Here is where you use the handy dandy garlic press and just squeeze all the garlic right on top of Chicken Little.

Then you gently massage the minced garlic all over the bab...I mean chicken. He will find this rather relaxing. Next is the stolen rosemary treatment. Here I am stuffing some into the body cavity to keep the lemon company.

Here I had just been chewed out by the hub so I was just letting out some frustration...just kidding, I made a few cuts in the breast (ow) to insert some rosemary sprigs.Fresh cracked pepperAlmost ready for the next step! But first, a message from our sponsor:

Have I ever told you how much I love birds? Well this little bluebird is a very special family heirloom. He is part of a bird collection that my grandmother had while I was growing up. He is in fact the smallest one of the collection and the only one I have been fortunate enough to have in my posession. Anyhow, he sits on my kitchen counter and brings me much cheer. I also love colored glass, which you can see in the nicely blurred background, in addition to the darling little handpainted apple/sugarbowl that Caeden painted for me at "Kid's at Art". I love my birds and my glass! And now, back to our show.

This next section of our process is tying this little guy up. I usually cut a piece of COOKING twine (please don't use anything else and expect for your house to not burn down, I will not be responsible for your arson escapades) about 24-30 inches in length.First start off by stretching the twine midways across the chest of the chicken. Don't worry about cutting off his circulation.Gently flip him overAnd crisscross the twine just like this.Then flip him again and cinch the twine catching his little legs right above the kneecaps.Tie the twine in a knot and trim off any excess. There. Now he has no choice but to sit still and there will be no chance of him scampering off to join the Gingerbread Boy.

Now comes the fun part. If you don't have a rotisserie you would be putting Chicken Little into the conventional oven at this point. (preheated to 350 degrees.) Cook for 30 minutes at 350 then reduce heat to 325 and cook for one more hour. For the rotisserie crowd you get to spear the chicken right in the breasts with the rotiserrie sticks.Carefully work him down until the rotisserie sticks come poking out right between the legs and the...ummm...butt area I guess.Put the other end of the rotisserie wheel on and voila he's ready to enter "the chamber".Doesn't he look so cozy and snug? (He? I've been saying "he" all this time and I just realized I think it's a "she". Oh well)Set the timer for 1 1/2 hours and go take a nap!!! Ha! Actually no, go scrub toilets or spank a bottom I don't care but you have at least an hour and a half to do whatever you want. In all reality, I start the rice about now but I am waiting for part of the recipe from my sweet sister in love who shared it with me so I will add that LATER. Sheesh. My neck is killing me from all this blogging and photo importing and whatnot. I usually serve this with yemeni rice, homemade hummus, toasted whole wheat pita bread, sliced red peppers, and sliced cucumbers. 

I hope you enjoy your chicken!!!

Gator Gumbo-A Spicy Hot Tale by Candace Fleming

Ahhhh my dear friends and readers...today is TASTY TUESDAY!!!! But alas I should have chosen my item of show and tell YESTERDAY and done my photos and blogging update today. Unfortunately, my scrumptious concoctions are still in their respective cooking gadgets and my time for blogging is NOW. So bear with me and cut me some slack and my promised presentation will be posted as soon as possible! You won't be disappointed I promise.

Are you wondering why I changed the name of my blog? Well check out the "about me" on the right and it sort of explains it okay? I'm sort of funny about names but I think this fits my lifestyle a little better.

So in the meantime, I was looking for a cute book for my kids to learn a little about cajun food since they have recently discovered a love for hush puppies, ("lil' doggie things" as Ava calls them) and I stumbled upon this adorable book called "Gator Gumbo-A Spicy Hot Tale" by Candace Fleming. I'm posting a review from Amazon's fabulous website for you to enjoy. Please note that the title of this post is actually a link to the book on Amazon! (Can you tell I LOVE Amazon?)

"Let me tell you about Monsieur Gator.
Monsieur Gator, he lives down in the bayou, oh yes he do.
He lives on the edge of the swamp, uh-huh.
He has big claws, big teeth, and a big appetite, for sure.
But Monsieur Gator, he has a big problem too.

You see, Monsieur Gator, he is getting old.
He is growing gray.
He is moving so-s-o
so-o-o
Sl-o-o-o-w.

Hoo, I tell you that gator moves slower than saw grass grows.
He moves slower than a snail with sore feet.
He moves so slow he cannot catch himself a taste of possum, or a
bit of otter, or a whiff of stripe-tailed skunk.

And - oh ho! - them critters sure know it!"


So starts this wonderful tale; a retelling of the tale of The Little Red Hen when all is said and done. This little story is set along the banks of a Louisiana Bayou and is filled with the most interesting characters.

All the swamp critters know that Monsieur Gator is getting old and cannot catch them any more and they take full advantage of this and spend their day teasing and tormenting the old gator. I must say that they are obnoxious little critters and as the story unfolds you become quite sorry for the old gator and quite putout at the obnoxious little beasties.

The old gator is crafty though. I suspect he has read the adventures of The Little Red Hen and he uses the same ploy that our little feathered friend used, slowly building his pot of gumbo and asking at each phase for help; help that is solidly refused by his lazy little tormentors. That is okay with Old Gator though...he keeps right on working.

Now I will tell you right here that the ending of this little story comes out quite differently than the results of the hen and her bread making; oh my yes! I hate to throw in a spoiler here so I will just say that in the end, Monsieur Gator is well fed and he no longer has a band of twerps making his life miserable.

This is a well written and beautifully illustrated book. It is great fun to read this to a group of little ones and it is especially fun if you can come up with just a bit of a Cajun accent. The kids get quite a kick out of it.

Let me address a couple of the objections voiced concerning this work. First, it seems that at least one reviewer did not like the book because, strictly speaking, it did not follow the absolute correct recipe for making gumbo. That is absolutely correct - it did not. On the other hand, I have read this work to at least fifty or more children over the years and I can assure you that not one of them picked up on this fact. To trash a book due to this seems to me a bit petty. Secondly, some reviewers felt that there were too many new word introduced in this story; too many for the wee crowd. This may be true, but on the other hand, I felt this is one of the strengths of the book...i.e., the introduction of new words. I have never in my rather lengthy life met or seen a kid hurt by learning new words, no matter what their age. Thirdly, it would seem that the rather violent end...i.e. the little critters got ate by the old gator that was tormenting him, is somehow politically incorrect. Good grief folks, in the wild you have predators and you have prey. That is just a fact of life. This is in many ways a cautionary tale and I see no problems in teaching a child how nature (and life I might add) actually works. I have seen quite a number of gators in my lifetime and have yet to find one that was a vegetarian.

Of course this is all quite subjective and in the end, it is the parent or teacher who must make the judgment call as to whether or not their child will respond well to this work...that is what parents and teachers do.

All in all, this is a great read; one of my favorite. I have read it to many children and I always receive calls for rereading. Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

I hope to be posting pictures of our Fourth of July celebration as well my tasty tuesday contribution in the very near future. Stay tuned...Spicy Red Hen

My nutty daughter

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Ava singing her favorite song

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December!!!

Can't believe it's December already!!! We had a great time at Disneyland this week; it was fast and furious. Doug had to work nearly the entire time which was such a bummer but I am thankful we were able to go at all. A man in our church let us use his timeshare which worked out wonderfully. The kids were stoked and got to ride all their favorite rides and do lots of fun activities like rock climbing and drawing classes at Animation Academy.

Please say a prayer for me this week; I am taking the cbest test on Saturday in hopes of being able to be a substitute teacher while I work on obtaining my teaching credential. I am feeling quite human right now in my frustration and impatience for things to look up for us to move into a house. I am praying for a miracle to happen very soon! I believe it could happen any day and I want to be ready and able to receive it when it comes.

In the meantime, we will enjoy being squooshed together over the holidays and find joy in the small things. Years ago, when we lived in our fifth wheel, I didn't even have a washer or dryer; I would drag my laundry across a field to wash and I would thank the lord that my babies were healthy and that we had a place to live. I kind of thought that trial was quite enough for me but apparently the good Lord sees fit to test me some more and for that I must be grateful. He has a will and purpose!


Love you all...

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I love Sunday!

Wow. Did we ever have awesome church today! It was incredible. So many lives were touched and changed. Thank you Lord for letting your Spirit fall fresh on your children!

After church I did a lil sewing...made Elyse the cutest top...will make a matching skirt tomorrow but I'm a little perturbed that my serger is not working. Zig zagging seams and hand trimming is the pits! I've gotten blisters from all the trimming.

I have my eye on a babylock imagine to fill the void. Unfortunately, the void getting one would leave in my pocketbook would be far worse at this point. Thank god I don't use credit cards or I would be very tempted to whip one out. Hubby has a huge wishlist of hunting supplies and I told him he might as well not even think about it without considering my sewing needs. Lol well it is clothing for the children you know, not entirely recreational which I cannot say the same for the hunting hobby.

Mooseburger anyone? ;)

So if anyone knows someone needing to rid themselves of such a glorious gadget like the babylock imagine be sure to let me know!!!!!

Until then I will continue to count my blessings and my blisters.


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Thoughts

Tonight I am wishing I had a house again...but still thankful for my blessed life.
Wishing we did not have a kitty who refuses to go outdoors to do his business. I despise kitty litter boxes...no matter how often it's cleaned and filled with new sand it still stinks up our bathroom. My steamy shower evolves into a simulated trip to the dump. Everyone I talk to has a different opinion. Mom says I can't possibly let the cat outdoors for his potty time. Although her cats do that. Someone else said my kids should be cleaning up after the cat which they do but who cleans up after them when they spill the sand all over the bathroom floor? Still another friend said it is traumatic and disturbing to give away a childs pet. Another said if the kids are not fulfilling their tasks to get rid of the cat. I'm confused!!!!!! I have to admit that I'm probably the only one that can make this decision as I am the
one dealing with living in tight quarters with 6 people and 1 bathroom. I am the one responsible for making sure our environment is clean and sanitary and if having a kitty complicates matters beyond my ability to manage then it's my perogative to make sure
the kitty has a good home. Do I feel bad? Yes I do because Ava loves animals so very much. But until we have a decent yard I am convinced (well sort of) that it's my right to eliminate excess burdens.
(sigh) animal lovers from all sides will come crawling out of the woodwork telling me what a hater I am...oh well...

Ok moving right along, someone in our church may have a home available for rent soon and have offered it to us. I'm not sure what to think, say or do as I really do want to move into a home but I was really hoping we could manage to buy our own. I can't bear the thought of plunking out another deposit, first and last to get into a home and then 6 months later find out the home is in foreclosure! I seriously don't want to waste another dime on rent. However, this individual won't require any of that simply move in and pay monthly rent. They are nit planning to let the home go into foreclosure either. But it's a rather small home compared to what we are used to.
We seriously need direction!!! If it's not going to be an option for us to buy within 6 months then I imagine we should consider this rent option.
Can you tell I am reasoning through my blog???
What do you think? Sherah? Holly? Kathy? Yvonne? Beth? Lol
We have lived at the church in a one room apartment for 5 months. I'm not admitting to impatience as this was my idea and I am thankful for the opportunity to get aead financially. I do like to see light at the end of the tunnel on the other hand. So.....
Pray for us that either a blessing takes place to allow us to buy a home quickly, or a confirmation occurs to let us feel good about renting for the 4th time since we've lived here.

I'm so excited for what God is going to do tomorrow in our Sunday service! We are having a special speaker and many backsliders and people "on the fringe" are supposed to be here.
Can't wait!!! :)


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Feeling so Thankful

Well with Thanksgiving almost here and everyone on facebook posting their daily thankful post I feel a little behind in shouting out how thankful I am for so many blessings in my life. I could never post in just a few words how thankful I am in my heart for all the things God has done for me. He has truly blessed me beyond measure and I am so grateful.
One of the many things I am thankful for in particular tonight, is having taken notice of Gods hand on my life since I was a small child. I had fears and strange thoughts as a little girl but God kept his hand on me and brought me through. Looking back, not only am I thankful for the things He brought me through but I'm thankful for the things he kept me from. Now that I am grown I look around and see the messes people have made of their lives and I can only say "but by the grace of God there go I". I've watched many people make terrible mistakes that reap results they end up having to live with that have detrimental effects on their marriages, children, and existance. It grieves me; yet it causes my heart to fill with thanksgiving at the graciousness of God for sparing me such turmoil. I thank God for incredible leaders and mentors in my life; individuals who were not afraid to tell me when I was headed down the wrong path. People like Rod Fultz, Nathan Morton, Kristi Morton, Elder Morton, Mary Jo Thompson, my parents, and many others who took the time to lead me and guide me down the path of righteousness. As a teen, I could so easily have slipped to a place of misery and disaster, but because of His grace and mercy I stayed pure and escaped the grasp of Satan in my life. Of course I was not perfect, I made mistakes as much as anyone, but I am so thankful that He had mercy and longsuffering for me and picked me up. I'm thankful that the influences in my life helped me to stay pure until I married my husband. The scars and trust issues so many people struggle with today because of their past are not familiar to me.
I only hope and pray I can be such a mentor to a young person today. When I counsel young ladies, my mind goes back to the choices I had, the choices my friends had, the ones I made and the ones they made and where we are now because of them. I hope and pray someone loves my children enough to guide them as I was guided. I can do my best as a parent but they will need outside influences. I pray for this daily.

I'm also thankful for peace in my home. Even though the economy is bad and I lost my job, I have peace knowing my life is in His hands. We may not own our home, we may be living in less than desirable conditions, but God is faithful and He provides our needs.

Lastly, for tonight anyway, it was the 5th anniversary of my last chemo treatment on November 16th...I can't believe how quickly time has gone by...Ava is 5 years old. I prayed I would live to see her go to Kindergarten and by God's grace and mercy I am actually teaching her kindergarten and I am so happy and excited to do so. God has truly answered all my prayers and is faithful, just, merciful, and kind. He never leaves the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging for bread. He's my healer, my provider, my Saviour, my deliverer, my strong tower, my rock, my comforter, and the author and finisher of my faith. My hope is in Him, my trust is in Him and He holds my life in the palm of His hand. I could never thank Him enough for His unending love and concern for me. Delight thyself in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart!!!

Oh one more thing, I'm also very thankful for my iRobot roomba vacuum. I don't know what I'd do without it and I can't wait till I get a scoomba too.

Love to all!


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Hi Yvonne!!!

This post is for Yvonne my one and only faithful reader lol...
Hey girl I guess you made it back home safe and sound! It was awesome to see you guys at WCC! Your boys are so grown I can hardly believe it.
Well we will have to work on planning a trip to see you guys one of these days...it'd be a blast.
Love u!!! :)))

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Most precious to me...

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Gotta love eBay!!!!

Wooooeeee I just sold some leftover curricula from last year and made $200+! I'm happy bout that...now I can buy some fabric for fall/winter outfits for the kids. Also thinking about investing in a resale kit from old fashioned candle co...LOVE those candles and love their company, great family owned business.
Hub is in Indiana preaching a revival, Chandler got to go along since the pastor there has a son his age. We sure miss our daddy and bubba! Life is sorta plainish with them gone.
They will be back next Wednesday after which I have a quick run up to sactown for school business and then after church on Sunday we will be heading down south to Disneyland! Kids are superstoked about that.



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Eating out

Wow, eating out everyday is "eating us alive"! It is very expensive as well as difficult to eat healthy.
I will be so thankful when our kitchen at the church is completely finished so I can broil salmon, bake chicken and make fresh salads again.
Right now we are sitting at Corsaros Family Pizza sharing a small pizza and a mini order of cheesey breadsticks.
This morning for breakfast, we went to a small Mexican grocery store where I told the kids to find something nutritional to begin the day with. They chose bananas, yogurt, green tea/vitamin water/milk/apple juice. Only one child had a complete meltdown due to the absence of white donuts in our cart. I stood my ground and after about 15 minutes of sniffling "he" consented to having a yogurt with his milk.
Looks like a nutrition study unit will be first on the to do list school-wise.



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Still insomniatic

Ava is lying diagonally across my bed. Hubby is snoring softly. Leaky faucet is dripping incesantly-trying to imagine it's gentle rain is not working. Dog is barking outside my window. (it's not mine or it would be 22 material) white noise machine isn't masking any of this. Long day tomorrow. What to do? I've prayed, I've surfed ebay, (nuff said) I've surfed etsy, (nuff said) I've updated my blog at least 8 times. I still refuse to go to facebook. Why? Nothing spiritual or deep. Totally personal...I like my friends there don't get me wrong but having to read their status updates so frequently is just simply annoying. Some people are hilarious and cool then others just...idk just bug the fire outta me. So. I just figured it wasn't worth the time I was wasting. So I'll waste my time here in blogland where if someone wants to read me they can. If not they can politely stay away. Nice. And I can do the same. Nicer.

Btw the dog's barking seems to have escalated into an unconteollable panic frenzy. Must be way too many cats meandering about. I need a lunestra pill or something. I'm never drinking coffee again. I really like it but this stinks.

Got a Jillian Michaels 30 day shred DVD. Haven't started yet. Need to. Next week.

The drippy faucet is making me crazy. More than the rumbling in the corner.(snoring)

I need ear plugs!!! Why oh why did I not buy some today?

Ok enough rambling...I'm hungry now. That's what happens when I can't sleep. I get hungry. I will not dig into the double stuffed oreos in the cupboard. Nor the fritoes. Nor the chex mix. There are some oranges and nectarines but I won't touch those either. I will let my stomach growl away. Maybe it will start competing with the snoring hubby. Or the barking mutt. Argh. I am thoroughly irritated.



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My blue eyed dolly

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The farmers at work

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Chicken Snatcher Caeden

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Elise and Geronimo

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The buckin bull riders!!!

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Ava and Baby(dads catahoula)

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The insomniac

Per usual, I can't sleep, drank a venti iced soy latte today...

Have Sunday school curriculum themes swirling through my foggy brain...trying to tie them in with our home school lesson plans. Medieval History is the plan, thinking a big castle backdrop with little lords, ladies, knights and damsels. Renaissance costumes aplenty...a trip to Medieval Times as well.

In additionto that I have fall photo shoot ideas brewing...sewing projects, crafts etc. (sigh)

I so wish I was like my hub and began the snoring before my head hit the pillow.

Also, I finished all my homework for the week today. Big accomplishment. New class-Survey of the Exceptional Child. Love it. Disabled children are so special.

Additionally, I painted the church kitchen. It looks incredible. One wall is cornelian red (kilz) the other 3 are golden margarita (also kilz) love love LOVE the colors. I'm totally pleased. Doing the cabinets black. Flooring will be black and white lino. Stainless steel accents. Sweet.



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Hot cheetohs

Nothing soothes the burn of a hot cheetoh but a........nother hot cheetoh


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Six Flags!

We had a blast yesterday at Six Flags Disovery Kingdom...Ava and Caeden love "big" rides and had big meltdowns when they weren't tall enough to go. Notice I didn't add Chandler to that sentence-he breathed great sighs of relief when he failed to meet the 58" height requirement...he is a big scaredy cat! The alltime fave for all the kiddos was the Tony Hawk Big Spin roller coaster, short but very fun!!!
Here are some pics of Ava on The Ark...top row!!! She was squealing with delight!





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Moving

Moving stinks!!! We are moving to our church for a few months. It's a looooooong story as to the dynamics facilitating this change; however, I am happy because I am no longer doing daycare and I am ready for some simplicity in my life. I have a fabulous plethora of curricula for my kids this year! ALL my children will be officially in school which amazes me. I want to spend my time where ur matters most. With my precious children and in the House of God. I can't complain He has been so good to me!!! I love you all and covet your prayers these next few weeks. It's sometimes difficult to move etc because we don't have any family nearby. I have been putting stuff in storage daily and about 50% of the move is complete but the last seems the hardest...especially when trying to please a landlord so as to receive our deposit back.
I'm posting this with my phone, that's why I am a bit rambly LOL!!!

God bless all my friends and even those who really are not. I wish Jesus would come tonight because I am ready to go!

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I like my iPhone

Here I am sitting in Berean waiting for a bible to be inscribed for a great young person in my church! It's so awesome to be able to post on my blog while I have a spare moment. Much much better than taking the time to log on my pc at home when laundry awaits.

There is a beautiful picture of a little girl standing at a rustic looking door and the scripture "seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you" is printed on it. I am going to imitate it with a picture of Ava for my hubbys office! I can't wait, it's going to be so gorgeous. So now I'm on the hunt for an interesting doorway so if you know of one near me please let me know!!!

Have a great week bloggie friends!!!


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Ps this is a pic of my kiddos catching chickens!!! Just practicing posting photos, this is so cool!!!

This is a test!!!

Wow, I finally got an iPhone. I am so excited! Ok so there are all these must have apps for it and I just realized I can blog with it too! Hey the other day I actually took a university test on it and aced it so it's all good in the hood peeps. I will be back cuz I definitely love blogging but hate sitting at the computer. Would MUCH rather lay on the couch or something. Cheers!!!!


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Time is Flyin'

Arrgh...time sure does fly whether you're having fun or not I think!

I can't update my blog much these days because we only have dial up at the house so my internet usage is pretty much limited unless I go to Starbucks which is where I am right now. I come here to do homework, log attendance for the kid's school and other businessish things I need to do. SO by the time I am done with all of that I am usually frozen solid, with my hinder parts numb and my brain fried so blogging is the least of my worries. Plus I usually really miss my family by that time so I am rushing home to kiss them.

Today however, I set aside this whole day to do homework as I have 4 assignements due-2 are due tonight and 2 are due monday night. I wanted to do them all so that I can relax over the weekend in Sacramento. Unfortunately, I got 1 assignement completed and the university server went down and I can't even retrieve my instructor's email addy to inform her of my problem. So I am very frustrated, I have multiple things on my to-do list but #1 was homework so.......*shake fist**stomp foot*

Geronimo

Here are some pics of the kids with our newest family member Geronimo. He's a gorgeous paint gelding who used to do Gymkhana with a little girl named Angela who so graciously has allowed us to provide him a new home. He is fitting right in as you can see!

Here Chandler is riding Geronimo bareback while Elise leads.

Now Caeden is riding bareback while Elise leads.

This is Ava's first time riding!

Just a pretty girl I saw in the field

"Farmer Chundo"

Goats

Well, we got some goats for the little farmers-to-be! They had a blast picking them out. They got a boy and a girl and named them Jack and Jill. Jack is a sweet thing but Jill is as mean as all get out. Doug says if she doesn't straighten up we'll be having goat stew! Anyhow..we got 2 pigs also, I'll try to post pics of them soon. Enjoy these!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Home from Disneyland

Whew! What a trip! Fast and furious and a total blast. After celebrating Thanksgiving for TWO days at my parent's house, we left early Saturday morning to meet my husband's brother and family in L.A. We met them on Sunset Blvd. at Le Croissant Club- a great place to eat if you like Mediterranean food-which I do wholeheartedly. They have a great selection of items for those who would rather stick to chicken fingers and other forms of nonadventerous fare.

We walked up and down Sunset Blvd till evening...stopped at the Disney store for a pre-disney sampling of disney inspired lollipops.

That evening, we drove to Rialto and stayed with our awesome friends Patrick and Holly Garrett...got to see Katie and Philip Booker and their gorgeous kids too-what a treat!

The next day was Sunday so we took a drive to San Diego-did the 8 boat tour deal and finished the day off at Rockin' Baja's Cantina...I love the place but this time all it seemed to do was rock our pocketbook a little too much...I guess it was the "big trip spending initiation night". I told Doug that after that we'd have to survive on PB & J for the rest of the trip...SO on the way home we stopped at Winco and bought a cart full of groceries to last us throughout the week.

The next morning we began our trek to Disneyland...it was awesome, the crowds were slim Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. We park hopped all three days...I had never experienced "Tower of Terror" so one morning, Elise, Caeden, Ava and myself were the first to arrive to California Theme Park...Caeden had said he wanted to go on it, Elise had already been and wanted to go again, poor Ava had no choice in the matter and I figured I'd better get it over with before I got stereotyped as a feathered creature that lays eggs. So we bravely entered the big scary room where they show you videos of scary twilight zon-ish phenomenons.

Oh my goodness...that ride is FREAKY!!! It was VERY cool...I am NOT afraid of it I promise...but I will say I felt like the world's WORST mom for taking my little innocent babies on it. I couldn't even scream I was trying so hard not to puke...Caeden and Ava both had huge eyes and huge mouths the entire time. Ava cried but at the end guess what Caeden said? "THAT was UNbelieveable!" I said "Really Caeden? You liked it?" He said "YES!" I said, "Wanna go again?" He said "NO." BUT when the rest of our party joined us a few minutes later and wanted to ride too, guess who joined them? AVA! Yep, she rode it AGAIN.

So I guess you could say that was one of my big highlights...other than the one time I spent $5.75 on a chimichanga...that was pretty exciting.

On Wednesday night, I left the crew enjoying ice cream at the Ice Cream Parlor so I could have some time of solitude and concentrate on the 4 assignments I had due the next day. Unfortunately, I had severe internet access issues and wasted my entire evening stressing out about it.

The next day, Thursday, was stressful since I knew I still had to complete my homework and the crowds were reaching excessive numbers at Disneyland so we decided California Theme Park was the place to be. We hit downtown Disney that night after the parks closed which is basically what everyone ELSE was doing too which made it very unpleasant for those of us who despise crowded walkways. Really doesn't do too much for self esteem you know...you're just inching along being sandwiched by strangers on all sides...sort of a panicky weird feeling. The looming homework assignments weren't helping me cope either. I ended up staying up till midnight that night completing them.

We took Ava and Caeden to Build-a-Bear which they'd never been, since they both still had some spending $ left. They thought they were in Heaven. It was so neat to see them having so much fun.

The next morning, I had made plans for Maxine, (my sil) and I to go to the LA garment district and the guys were going to keep the kids at the hotel to chill out and do laundry. That plan quickly changed however, when my hubs bro decided to upgrade his tickets for one more day at Disneyland. Our kids have season passes so of course they were eager to join in on one more day of chaos. They had a blast...went on Grizzly River Run a dozen times, got soaked to the skin.

On Saturday, we spent the day with Patrick and Holly again...relaxing...doing the laundry that didn't get done...four wheeling...laughing...basically just goofing off. Didn't leave their house till 6:30 pm...didn't get home till 11:30 pm and by this time I was feeling that tight chest, sore throat, pounding headache coming on. But it was WORTH it!!! I am better already...nothing a few nights of normal sleep couldn't fix!

Managed to get up the next morning for church, after which we had an appointment to meet our new landlord to get the keys to our "new" house. After that we took the kids to pick out a Christmas tree which we took to the "new" house with a thermos of hot chocolate and my ipod with Christmas music on. We set it up and decorated a few areas in the new house before anything else was in it.

This morning, at 9 o'clock 2 trailers arrived at my "old" house to pick up my furniture and any boxes I had ready. (not very many I'm afraid)

SO!!! I have been planted firmly in my computer chair today diligently picking up the pieces of my neglected studies. Finished a paper and took a test...got 100% prayz'im!

I think I might be a bit outta my mind at the moment...so here are a few pics for you to enjoy.

Tomorrow, my mom is coming to help me do the rest of the packing and moving. Hopefully we'll be settled in by the weekend. We'd better cuz Richard and Jessica are coming for the weekend!!! YAAAAY!!!! Can't wait.......partay!!!!!!!!!

Bradley, Elise and Chandler getting ready for the parade

Just a pretty girl I saw at Disneyland
Having a thrilling time on "Dumbo"California Scream!!!!

The gang...minus Brooke who escaped before the camera could get her!

Elise, Minnie and Ava...

My cute niece Brooke

Finally Moving

We are officially moving...our landlord doesn't seem to think they can avoid foreclosure on the home we are renting. We signed papers last night for a different house here in Chowchilla.
It will be a big change...we've lived in our current home for over a year and a half, we've settled in pretty nicely. Same size home but totally different style. Our current home had never been lived in when we moved in...new everything, huge vaulted celings and stark white walls. (which I dislike greatly) We did all the landscaping in the backyard which took lots of time and effort...it's sort of sad to leave it behind but that's just how it is when you rent anyhow.

So the "new" house was actually built in the 80's so it's not new at all...recently remodeled, ONE story-THANK YOU JESUS...the sound running and thumping at 6:00 AM will cease. It's on 14 acres of alfalfa, lots of huge mature trees and it has a barn and a dog kennel.

The best thing about it is it has a mother in law's quarters which will NOT be used for its intended purpose but I will use that area to teach my classes and have my little preschool. It will be really nice to have a work place separate from the rest of the house.

It's really funny because before we even moved to Chowchilla, I looked at this particular piece of property and even asked the owner if they would consider renting it out. (It was on the market) They said no at that time, but now it's been 2 years and I took a leap of faith and decided to ask again and they said they'd like to work it out. We are praying we can be able to purchase it from them after awhile.

So its a horrible time to have to move...we are gong to Disneyland right after Thanksgiving for a whole week so I have scads of stuff to do before we leave. Not only that but I have a 12 page research paper due Monday. I have 3 more assignemnts due before we leave for the Thanksgiving holiday. Do you think I have even started them? Nah. I think I will be burning the midnight oil a LOT this weekend!!!

PRAY SAINTS PRAY!!!

Commercial for moms or any other clean freak

My life is crazy busy right now...research papers due, a 3000 square ft. home to pack up to move, a 7 day trip to prepare a family of 6 for, a wedding to plan, a "pre" thanksgiving dinner to plan for Saturday, sunday school lesson to prepare for Sunday and the list goes ON!!!

BUT I thought I would take a brief moment to fill you in on the latest gadget I've fallen in love with. I'm sure you've seen or heard about the little handy steam cleaning machines you can pick up for about $30 at Walmart or Target...well, I never tried one so I can't say how they perform but my neighbor let me borrow her Shark Pro-Steam Blast by Euro-Pro. It costs $99 at Lowes, and let me tell you it is worth every single penny! It is amazing...I was cleaning my bathroom sink area and has already wiped it down with a rag when I decided to try this steam thing and when I did the additional crud it dislodged AFTER I had already supposedly cleaned was incredible. I cleaned my fridge with ease...the steam just blasted the junk out of all the little rubber seals and hinges. The only thing I think is that you should have a shopvac with a small attachment nearby to suck up the debris as the steamer doesn't do that, the directions say to have a rag handy to wipe up the mess which works fine for small jobs, but a job like my refrigerator needed a bit more...I just let the mess fall to the floor then I sucked it up with the vacuum later.
Lastly, after my refrigerator, sink, stove, microwave, window sills and countertops were sparkling, I swept the floor and used the steamer's floor attachment to sanitize the floor. Little chunks of gunk that I had been to lazy to scrub up for days came up with ease! My floors were so clean and with no dulling or sticky residue. The fresh steam clean smell just made me the happiest housekeeper on the planet. I will say it isn't the most quiet machine I've ever used...I was cleaning out our empty 55 gallon fish tank to sell on craigslist, (such a fun chore hubby left me with) I had my head in the fish tank with the steamer and I had a few moments of feeling like I was inside a jet engine) It produces a LOT of steam too...I could hardly see inside the fish tank...lol.

But overall, I was impressed exponentially. So...go out and get yourself one...I plan to as soon as I can!

"Can someone say gangbanguh?"

While swaying side to side, this is what my five year old said today while trying on some pants he thought were too baggy.

Check out my latest work of art...

I got this canvas of Caeden in the mail yesterday...I am so thrilled with it! I got it from Canvas on Demand and they did a fabulous job! These are available for my customers also...oh, the "do not copy" is not on the canvas itself.

Homemade Pesto Anyone?

Inspired by my friend Misha far far away in Pennsylvania, I was looking at my garden, bemoaning the fact that soon my beautiful summer bounty will be slowing and the need to pull out the plants I worked so hard to maintain. My basil plants specifically as they are huge and I LOVE to pick fresh basil for nearly every meal but most loved is my special combination of garden tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and cracked pepper salad. (If you frequent Macaroni Grill this specific combination of ingredients will set you back $9.95 for a sparse sampling)

ANYHOW, I was contemplating my dilemma and suddenly remembered Misha's little dabbling with home economics and other Martha Stewartish behaviors.
(you're much more talented Mish) I went and harvested as much fresh basil as possible, (leaves are beginning to fade in color due to the cooler weather) I brought them in and washed them thoroughly. Then I cut up about 4 large cloves of fresh garlic and began sauteing them in about 2 tbs of olive oil. I added about 1/4 cup of pine nuts, a few dashes of salt and some cracked pepper. After the pine nuts began to look toasty, I added a few more tbs. of olive oil and added the fresh basil leaves. The amount of leaves after my de-stemming/washing was about 3 cups. I lightly sauteed these leaves until they were JUST barely looking brighter green and BEGINNING to be limp-ish. (I don't like anything overcooked-the nutritional value and taste imo is reduced greatly by overcooking) I then dumped the entire mixture into my vita-mix machine. (a blender would be sufficient) I added about 1/4 cup more olive oil and blended until it was just the texture I like pesto to be! THEN I poured the mixture into an ice cube tray and put it in the freezer. This morning, I took the tray out and put the little pesto cubes into freezer bag to grab for immediate tasty additions to all my soups, pastas and anything else needing a little pep! Oh I forgot to mention that I scraped the remaining tidbit of pesto from the vita-mix into the pasta I had cooking on the stove...it was scrumptious!
I was too busy flinging this stuff all over the place to get my camera out to take pics...I'll probably be able to do it one more time before the first frost hits and destroys the plants so hopefully then I will remember to take pictures so my blog will genuinely rival with Misha's!

6 year old british super star

Due to popular demand I decided to open my blog back up...
Scroll down to the bottom of my blog and watch this little girl sing...she is amazing! If you want to hear more of her music, go to my photography blog and listen via my player there.
TTFN!

Ava's Happy Day

It was mine and Ava's birthday last week, which most of you know marks a very special time and place in my life and heart. We spent time with my mom celebrating on the 16th, then on the 20th, Ava had a cowgirl princess party with all of her little friends. It was quite a party and the little celebrity just glowed all day with the festivites.

I had a fiasco at the bakery when picking up her cake-it was nowhere to be found and once they "found" it (more like whipped it up real quick in the back) it wasn't even close to what I had ordered-solid white with plain pink writing "Happy Birthday". I had ordered this spectacular "My Little Pony" cake with a castle on it and everything and it was all I would settle for. It was quite humorous really because technically, Ava had no idea I was getting so frantic about this cake thing, she was in fact happily pushing her own little cart in the store and was gloating in her birthday glory while wearing her birthday best-the boots and petti you see in the pics. She had just taken a sharp turn in her glee and had toppled her cart over, spilling its contents. It wasn't a huge deal, I scolded her ever so gently for the spill, but as tenderhearted as she is, she was quite downcast and heartbroken at this latest turn of events...I used this to my advantage, and said to the negligent baker lady, "Do you think I can tell HER that she won't be having a "My Little Pony" cake?" The lady said, "Oh of course not honey, we'll get you your cake!" OMW I thought I was going to come unglued, I had this huge lump in my throat like I was going to cry, so I had to be really strong and tell them I was not paying for that pathetic looking cake but that I was not leaving without a cake. (this was 1 hour before the party started mind you!) Needless to say, I got my cake, a few gray hairs added to my collection but all went well after that.

Alls well that ends well!

Patriot Day 9-11 Remembered

Well I know many will post about this today, since today marks the anniversary of that fateful day 7 years ago when our nation was rocked by the heartless attacks on the twin towers and the pentagon.

I remember that morning, our trailer was parked at The Rock Church, in the parking lot, and my husband was going to be preaching the back-to-school covering service that was being held that Tuesday morning there. My husband woke me up early that morning, saying "Babe we've been hit, we've been hit!" In my sleepy state of mind, I thought maybe I was unconscious or something and we'd been in a car accident. Then I thought our trailer had been hit by a vehicle in the parking lot. I couldn't figure out what he meant. Then as I came to my senses, my husband explained to me what he meant. The full reality of the situation didn't really hit until days later when we were able to see footage of the wreckage and the aftermath of the disaster.

I'll never forget that day, as I know it marks a piece of history for our country. Indignation and anger wells up in my heart again for the lives that were destroyed that terrible day.

May we remember those who hurt today, pray for them and continue to pray for this nation that our leaders will keep us protected and safe in the future.

God BLESS the USA.