I got an Award!

How awesome is that!!! I am like bouncing off the walls right now!! I am so flattered!! Thank you!! Jessica from Me and My Bucket awarded me this beauty!! Thank you thank you thank you Jessica!!! You all seriously need to go over and visit her.. She is so stinkin cute... Some day I hope to meet her (in person). She has great ideas and the cutest baby boy with " pinch me, kiss me cheeks"!! Gotta love it!!



Anyhoo, So with this award I need to tell you all 10 things about me that make me happy... Huuuummmm (wiggling fingers in front of me).



So here goes:

10 Things that make me Happy........

1. Anything Twilight... Yes, I am a Twihard!! I admit it.. The hubs thinks I am crazy but that is okay. Go Team Edward.... :O) (Have you heard R Pats sing? I likey!! ) I read all 4 books in like 2 weeks.. I even reread the last few chapters of the 4th book twice... Yes, obsessed is my middle name!! :O)

2. I love to sing. I might not be good at it but singing just makes me happy!

3. I am a huge Reality TV freak! Right now I am watching both Housewives of NY and New Jersey! My life is pretty much drama free (which is fine by me) so I live vicariously through these ladies... I am also soooooo excited that Big Brother is starting soon... Happy dance!!

4. Chex mix makes me happy! Now my fav is the regular kind but I do like the sweet n' salty one too. I am trying to wing myself off of it though...

5. My memory foam pillow. The hubs has tried very hard to steal this from me... NO ONE can use my pillow!

6. My kids! I can not get enough of their hugs and kisses... They bring me such joy!

7. My husband! I can truly say that I love him more today than I did 13 years ago when we got married... He has sacrificed so much for us and i am so proud of him... He just finished his 2nd degree in College!! Yeah Jason!!!!!!! :O)

8. Shoes! I wear them always... Well, mostly flip flops even in the winter... When I find a pair I really like watch out because that is pretty much the only shoes you will see me in.. (BUT, I hate feet! Go figure?) I had to have a moment of silence last year for my most favorite pair. I had them since my 2nd child was born... He turns 8 next month.. It took me like 3 weeks to find a suitable pair to replace them... I am very picky when it comes to flip flops!

9. Cherry Dr. Pepper... Now I am trying very hard not to drink it... I have cut back to 2 cans a week... I wish it was in fountain form but it is probably a good thing its not.... Instead I like to drink Fruit2O. The raspberry one is fab!!!

10. This one puts me over the edge! The hubs knows I am definitely nuts due to this one... I am a HUGE INDY FANATIC!! LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!! Just finished watching the qualifying for the Indy 500... So happy that it's next week!! Go Helio!! He just earned $175,000. 00 for getting the pole position... I NEED HIS JOB!!! Team Penske all the way... Did I mention that Team Penske qualified all 3 of their cars in the TOP 4 spots... Team Target/Ganassi took position 3 but Penske has positions 1, 2, and 4!!! Super fast!!!



I wish to add one more thing that makes me happy!!! It's all of you that take the time to read my rantings and check out what I have been up too... Blogging has brought me so much joy. It is an outlet that I never knew I needed... You all keep me inspired to do more, be more, and enjoy more... So here's to you!! BIG HUGS!!!!! :O)



Now onto who I am giving this same award to.....

There are so many ladies that I would love to give this too so it is making it so very hard to narrow it down.... But, here goes....

1. Shelley from House of Smith's
2. Lindsey from The Pleated Poppy
3. Sausha from Show & Tell
4. Ashley & Whitney from Shanty2Chic
5. Traci from Beneath My Heart
6. Melissa from 320 Sycamore
7. Vanessa from V & Co
8. Jen from Tatertots & Jello
9. Lisa from Recaptured Charm
10. Star from A Load of Craft

Thank you ladies.. It's your turn to pass this award on to 10 friends and tell us 10 things that make you all happy... I for one can hardly wait to read your answers.... :O)

These are some very talented ladies so please go on over and visit them and enjoy them as much as I do... Thanks again for bringing joy into my life!!!! You all ROCK!!! :O)

Just another typical Saturday!

Well, today we have been relaxing and not doing much.. A part from me making breakfast and cleaning the kitchen then making homemade (from scratch) cheesy potato soup.. YUMM-O!

The boys asked if they could go to Branstrom Park (just down the street from us) to go fishing. I let them and this is what they came back with.....
Did you count them? 11 Frogs! Boys will be boys... They are just like their father. He used to come home with buckets full of frogs and left them in his parents garage forgetting to tell them.. His dad got up the next morning to leave for work and walked into the garage (without turning on a light) and saw the floor moving and started screaming... Now knowing my father-in-law he is not one to get scared easily so this is very funny to us all.... He still does not let the hubs forget it!! I just laugh!
This is the biggest one they caught today. He is huge!!!
Here is my oldest holding him. No, he is not scared of the frog, just mad at me... Typical!!! He is getting ready to turn 12 and well, you get the picture!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I am off to prepare my talk for church tomorrow. Yes, I have been working on it for the last 3 days... Just needs some finishing touches.... Until next time, have a great one!!! :O)

Free Bosch Mixer!! What?

Okay, so I have told you all about this amazing food storage site that teaches you how to save on groceries and how to set up your food storage..... If you do not remember it is called Deals to Meals. Well guess what? They are having an awesome give-a-way right now.... One extremely fantastically lucky person will win a Bosch mixer!!! What? I so want it..... so go on over and check it out.... Good luck... Keep your fingers crossed that I WIN!!!

Okay, Okay, I know!!

Okay, so I know that I have been a little (try a lot) slacking in my posts the last few weeks. I am so sorry.. I do have good reason though... I just can not tell you yet.. Again, its cuz of the hubs... so I am so sorry. I have been working on an on-going project though and thought I would share it with you all.. I saw a post over at Clean Mama and I knew I needed to copy her. See she made this fab recipe binger and with my ever growing pile of recipes this was the answer to tame the beast.. So here it is...


I bought the largest binder I could at Walmart.. It was $7. Steep but I would fill it fast... And I did. This is only like a 1/4 of my recipes and the folder is almost full.. Told you I had a lot. So, anyways. I have taken some pics to show you all my pretty work...

For the full tutorial go here.

Isn't the inside so pretty? I love the colors I choose for this project.. Bright and cheerful! Like me!! :O)

Everything is going in a page protector.

It is quite the undertaking but is and will be so worth the effort... Now I just need to go buy more sheet protectors and another binder.... Until later..... Have a great one..... :O)

Linking to parties on my side bar... Check them all out... You will have so much fun and who doesn't like to crash a party..... :O)

I won!!!

I am so excited!!! I won the give-a-way over at Recaptured Charm! If you have not visited her yet please take the time to do so... She is amazing!! I just love her blog!! She has the most wonderful ideas.. She is also thinking of having another give-a-way real soon so you might want to take a look around..

Enjoy!! :O)

Okay you Twilighters!!

Just thought I would let you in on what I have discovered on the Stephenie Meyer site. She started a 5th book in the Twilight series.. BUT, it was leaked out over the Internet (big surprise there) and so she has stopped writing it. She does not know when and if she will finish it. But she has made it possible for all of us Super fans to read it for free.. Is your head just a buzzing and your heart racing yet? I know mine is....

Go to StephenieMeyer.com and look under the Twilight Series section and you will see a tab on the left side that says "Midnight Sun" click on it (that is the tile of the 5th book) and read and she gives you the access to download (not print) the partial draft for free... It is like 264 pages long...

She also wrote another book that is a "novella" as she calls it that tells the story of "Bree Tanner" the newborn vampire in Eclipse. It is for purchase at Amazon.com right now for like $7-8 in hard back. But does not get released until June 5th. You can wait and read it for free on the Internet during June 7th thru July 5th at breetanner.com.

This should hopefully get us all through the next month and a half until Eclipse comes out to the Theaters... Until then.... :O)

I entered, did you?

Have you all been checking out all the fun give-a-ways that are out there in blogland this week?
Go check out Recaptured Charm for a fantastically beautiful Peridot butterfly necklace... I want it!!!





Take a look around at all the blogs in my Daily reads on my sidebar. They are awesome and they have some great give-a-ways too!! As always, have a great week!!! :O)

Happy Mother's Day!

Here's a little "Happy Mother's Day" to all you beautiful mothers out there in blogland...

Now, a little tribute to my mom.... Thanks for being my mom... I love you for who you are. For who you taught me to be. For the example you are to me and my children. Thank you for raising me in the Gospel. You are near and dear to my heart. Thanks for the endless hours of laughter. Thanks for your friendship. A day hardly goes by that I do not talk to you and I am grateful for that. Thanks for putting up with me. You are my friend and my mother and for that I love you.... :O)

Happy Mother's Day!!! :O)

Can you keep a secret?

I can too... Well, that is what I am trying to tell/show the hubs... It is all because of him I have to keep the secret.... If I was in Austria I would be singing it from the top of the mountains... You know like in The Sound of Music.. The hills are alive.... I love that movie... :O) When he will let me tell, you all will be the first... :O)

Anyways, the hubs is at it again... He brought these beauties home this morning for me.... Do you think he is trying to butter me up for something? Getting ready for Mother's day? Or just loves me that much... :O) I like to think the last but know it is probably the first.... LOL
Aren't the colors beautiful? He knows I love tulips. They are so romantic in my book. They make me happy.

Not to sure about that pitcher/vase... It is more of a raspberry rather than a red. Sorry for the terrible pics but we are having yucky weather right now.. I am thinking about painting the pitcher white. What do you think? I think it will work much better. It is plastic so should not be a problem spray painting it.

I thought I would share another recipe with you all. Do you ever watch 19 kids and counting? I do for some reason.. Still not sure why but I do... Any hoo, they showed this recipe called Chicken Etti and I thought I would try it. I have to say it was pretty good. But I changed the name to Chicketti or Turketti as it was last night. It is just a lot easier to say.

Here are the basics. I forgot to put the chicken broth in the picture, sorry...

You will need: 1 package noodles (I prefer penne rigate for this)
3 cups cooked chicken or turkey (I used leftover turkey for this and yes

I did fix a whole turkey dinner in May... It was DE-lish!!!)
1 can green chilies
1 cup chicken broth

1 lbs Velveeta cheese

1 can diced tomatoes ( I used my homemade canned salsa)

1 can cream of chicken soup

First boil your noodles, drain, and place in a casserole dish.

While the noodles cook mix in a large pot on medium the following: green chilies, chicken broth, cheese, tomatoes, and cream of chicken soup. Stir until melted together.

After you place the noodles in the casserole dish shred your chicken/turkey and place on top of noodles.

When the cheese and soup mixture is all melted together pour over the noodles and chicken/turkey.

This is what it should look like. Make sure to mix it all together. You want to coat every noodle.
After it is mixed place it in the preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

If you are like me, everything is better with more cheese.. I take it out around 27 minutes then add a layer of shredded cheese to the top and put it back in for 5 more minutes.

It comes out looking like this.... YUMM-O!

Pair it with a nice salad and dig in.... I have made this twice now. Once with chicken and once with turkey. They are both wonderful.. Can not tell you which one I like more. I might have to say turkey right now because there are leftovers in the fridge. I know what I am having for lunch. Do you? Hope you all enjoy this recipe... Have a great week! :O)

Winner winner chicken dinner!

All right ladies.... Sorry I did not get to posting on Friday... I was to busy dejunkifying... Yes it is my made up word... If Sarah over a Thrifty Decor Chic can use the term decrapification then I can use mine... LOL

Any hoo, the winners of the give-a-way are:

Suzanne from Meridian Road
and
Becky from Beyond the Picket Fence

So ladies, if you would be so kind as to email me your addresses I will get your goodies together and in the mail to you... Thanks for playing..... :O)