I'm so blogging this....

Have you ever said that? I have and then I forget. Today I didn't forget......

I had a busy day Wednesday and I didn't get to eat dinner before church. I had some errands to run afterwards, but was very hungry. I ran through McDonald's drive-thru and then sat in Walgreen's parking lot and ate my chicken nuggets and fries. I parked so that I was facing Thomasville Rd - a busy road. I was listening to Bon Jovi, watching cars go by, daydreaming about who knows what, mindlessly eating fries out of my to-go bag. I bit grabbed a few fries and put them in my mouth and started chewing and realized I was chewing more than fries....I was chewing the straw wrapper. I started laughing so hard that I almost choked.

My first thought was - "I'm so blogging this!"

On another note, Melissa and I are starting a bad mommy blog - a place where you can come and share mommy mishap stories.

As Promised....

On Sunday, our neighbor brought the front end loader down and TORE up our yard. It was just tooooooo wet from all the rain. The machine got stuck in our ditch and had to be pulled out by another neighbor. I actually missed that....I was taking Jacob to baseball practice. I bet those would have been some great photos.

Michael and Gregg did accomplish digging a 'not-so-small' trench for water to drain from our driveway to the ditch. It was put to the test yesterday...and it worked. It is still a mess down at the end of the trench. Jacob and his friend filled one wheelbarrow full of dirt and that was it. The wheelbarrow still sits - full of dirt.

Another day, another mud pit.

Rainy Days

It has rained for 2 days, straight. I should post a photo of our front yard...one word will quickly describe our yard - PUDDLES! We were supposed to host the end of the season soccer party here at the house. We were going to have a bonfire and roast hot dogs in the backyard. Right now, our fire pit is FULL of water....Michael will have to bale out his pit.

Our neighbor rented a front loader or some big machine and is in the process of digging trenches and moving dirt around his yard. Michael is trying to get in on the action - I'll be sure to take photos of that if he gets his way and the front loader makes it way down here.

Tomorrow we'll be busy selling Girl Scout cookies at Publix in the morning and then at Winn-Dixie in the afternoon. For the past 3 years Hannah as sold over 1000 boxes of cookies. This year she is going to try again. Right now we have about 800 boxes of cookies in our garage. So far I've resisted and have not opened a box of cookies. We'll see how long that lasts......

Sorry it has been so long in between posts.....Emily is my new blogging mentor...she has been blogging every day. It is like opening a present when you go to a favorite blog and there is a new post.

Valentine's Day

Every year we celebrate Valentine's Day as a family and this year was no different. I made inside-outside chicken parmesan (see description below) and a banana pudding parfait. I set the table with a pink tablecloth, red charger plates, red votive candle holders and white plates. After dinner Hannah and Jacob got their Valentine goodies from us and from my mom.

The 3 votives were down the center of the table and before I gave Hannah and Jacob their bags, I told them to be very careful with the tissue paper because of the candles. Hannah and Jacob did fine...they were careful. After the kids were done and we were about to get up from the dinner table, Michael threw Hannah's piece of tissue paper across the table at Jacob. Well, long story short, we had a flaming ball of fire that had to be thrown on the tile floor. I was too busy screaming at Michael to get a picture....

I guess our love is hot...really hot!

For the chicken parmesan you need:
Chicken Cutlets
Mozzarella
Egg/Milk mixture
Flour
Seasoned Bread Crumbs w/Parm. Cheese

Pound chicken and then place a thick slice of mozzarella cheese (sliced to fit the chicken piece - which will look like a short cheese stick) and roll up jelly roll; securing with toothpicks. Dredge chicken in flour, then in the egg/milk mixture; then roll in seasoned bread crumbs. Pan fry on each side; then bake in 350 degree oven for about 20 min.
I served the chicken rolls over pasta topped with red sauce.

Does clutter make you fat?

This evening I was reading through my 'blog roll'. I have a list of blogs that I have found over the last year that I try to read when I get a chance. Tonight I was going down my list and came to I'm an Organizing Junkie. She posted notes she took when Peter Walsh (he used to be on Clean House) was on Oprah. Since I don't watch Oprah, I didn't know that he was going to be on the show, however, I really like Walsh and how he helps desperately cluttered families.
Anyway, here is a quote from her website....

• Clutter and weight can be symptoms of an unresolved, underlying issue in your life. “Eating more and buying more is an attempt to fill the need for something more,” he says. “Until you get those underlying issues dealt with, all the rest is a waste of time.”

What do you think about this? I'm inclined to agree...based on personal experience. Now, do I think that skinny people can be disorganized? YES. Do I think that chubs can be organized? YES. But, I think that for us chubs, it is harder to lose weight if our homes are filled with clutter.

For the most part, if someone were to drop by, they wouldn't think that my home was cluttered. However, behind closed doors, you will find clutter. I long for organization and for the most part, I do a good job at organizing certain areas of my family life. Its the personal side that is not so organized, i.e. my bedroom.

Years ago I purchased a frame/corkboard that hung by my kitchen phone. I never added pictures to it. On one of my mom's visits (yes, it was that long ago....back when she lived in S. Fla) she taped photos to the outside, on the glass. It has remained that way for years. Last night I came up with an idea for this frame/corkboard. I printed the days of the week and put them in the picture frame area. I'm going to list the meals for the week, using either a dry erase marker or sharpie (rubbing alcohol gets rid of permament marker). In the past I've printed the list of meals and posted them on the fridge...which this method works, too....but figured I wasn't using the frame anyway.

All this to say....I'm trying to take small steps to organization.

When you get a chance, read Laura's post.

Deal of the Week

Better Homes and Gardens for $3.29 for the year!

Good deal, yep!

Last year after Christmas I found a similar package, at Walgreens, for about $2.00 and was so excited. I bought one for me and one for my mom. This year I looked at Walgreens after Christmas...I even looked in Orlando, but no luck. On Sunday I was at Bed, Bath and Beyond with my mom and look what I found in the clearance section.....

Recipe box

Coffee mug

Raspberry mocha

Chocolate spoon

Caramel butter cookies

1 year subscription to BH&G

Week in Review

It's been a busy week, but aren't they all busy? I thought I'd post a quick review of my week.....

• I worked almost 30 hours this week. Pro: I will get a good paycheck. Con: I was really tired and not much got done around the house.
• Michael's grandmother passed away on Monday. He is in Wisconsin until Thursday....he had an adventure today, but I'll let him blog about it.


• I made potato and corn chowder that was delicious! There was only 1 bowl leftover!


• We purchased a new fan for the living room. The fan in our bedroom worked just fine, but the light was broken. So, we thought we'd move the fan in our living room to our bedroom and then put the new fan in the living room. Michael, dutifully, took down the fan in the living room and put the new fan up. It was tooooo big for the room. Actually, the blades are the same size but the light kit hung down much lower and I was not happy with it. Long story short (or is it too long for short....) he put the new fan in our room and put the old living room fan back up in the living room.


• Jacob had his Pinewood Derby on Saturday. He and Michael worked very hard on the car. He came in 2nd in his den and 12th overall. Have you ever seen the movie Down and Derby? If not, it's a family must see.


• I joined a book club. Actually, I've wanted to be part of one for years, but really didn't want to get it started. I convinced a friend it was originally her idea and viola...I'm now part of a book club. Our first book is The Measure of a Man, an autobiography of Sidney Poitier. This is definitely not a book I would have picked up on my own, but nevertheless, I'm looking forward to reading it.

What did you do this week? Anything fun?