Not Another Manic Monday

Do you ever get tired of my randomness?!
I won't be shocked if you told me my blog reads like a bad book.
So many thoughts...all scrambled up and spewed out in no particular order.
But..I keep blogging.
There are worse things in life right?
haha

I LOVE MAPLE BAR  DOUGHNUTS WITH CRUMBLED BACON TOPPING.
Thanks to Legendary Doughnuts a new addiction has begun.
http://legendarydoughnuts.com/
Check them out! I am picking another dozen up tomorrow! Ok maybe two...

New quote of the day,by Me

"If you choose to create nothing but drama in your life,that's your choice and I won't judge you. If I choose to avoid you because of that drama,that's my choice,please don't judge me."

Vern and I washed 6 loads of Trevor's laundry this weekend.My"maternal" side loved every minute of it :) It was all worth it when Trevor dropped by my work the next day to thank me. Such a nice kid he is! All the ladies at the salon melted and commented on how sweet that was for him to be so grateful. I agreed! Next thing I knew we were shopping for a Halloween basket full of goodies for him! I know,I know,he's 18 but...I am my Mother's daughter. She decorates and makes treats for EVERY holiday and now I know why,the fun of doing something fun and making someone feel like a kid again, is a great rush! I guess all that laundry really got my "maternalness" going? Well...let's not get carried away.I know what you're thinking. I did my nurture thing,now I'm all better. The "3 kids" (Del,Trevor,Chipper) I have are enough for me!

Off to the big city tomorrow to take a friend to an appointment. Say a prayer for Vern's truck.(JUST KIDDING HONEY!!!) I promise to return safely with doughnuts :)This time I will take pics of them.You must be missing the food porn by now? Last time I was too busy eating them to stop and take a few pictures ...

Again,thanks for reading my randomness..
Hang in there,
it might get better.
Might.

Thursday Night Insight

What do you blog about at midnight?

I could tell you about tea..?

Sleepy Time Vanilla is a happy new evening habit :)

Buutt..

I see that a new tea habit is going to require teeth whitening strips.

Coffee in the morning,tea at night..

not good.

I could tell you about the life transition I am making.

The reality that Vern and I will be living in this house for at least 5-10 more years has begun to sink in.

It's Dels' house but he is happy as a clam up in his new addition..

So that leaves the downstairs to Vern and I.

 I want to embrace my female needs to "nest" but I have been patiently trying not to change much so far.

I am told I have the freedom to do most any upgrades I want...

I guess it just hadn't really hit me until recently that we are here for the long haul.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I'd assumed we would get our own place..

someday?

That was before I realized that we would like to retire in 15-20 years,

take vacations,

have fun toys like campers,boats and a nice truck,

work only 4 days a week 

and all without the looming stress of home ownership!

Ok not so bad :)

Time to nest!

(don't let me fool you,I have the kitchen remodel planned in my head already,the bathroom almost done and I'm on the brink of solving the small dark living room issue before I completely overhaul that room too...)

Paint,rugs,stain and a whole lot of DIY projects later..

this place will feel like home.

Our home.

Oh and I am SOOOO excited!

Guess who's wonderful boyfriend ordered a new Rachael Ray knife set?

.

.

.

.

Mine did!!!!

He's the bestest! 

Thanks Baby!

I am waiting patiently for 4-6 weeks.

Mostly because that's my only choice...haha

Speaking of...

Have you ever visited CSN stores online?

I am a new fan,they have so much stuff you can get sucked in for hours!

I am not getting paid for this commercial...haha 

but I will be doing a future blog with  link to CSN that will earn me a $35 gift card!

Sweet!

For now,go check it out-

http://www.csnstores.com/

Alright,sleepiness has finally won,

no more midnight blogging for me tonight.

Happy Friday

:)

Somebody Pinch Me...This HAS To Be A Dream!

 Oh lookey what I found on the internet! I am drooling,my head is spinning...BACON?! Yum.
http://www.evilchefmom.com/2010/10/caramel-coconut-chocolate-chip-and.html

caramel, coconut, chocolate chip, and bacon magic bars: adapted from food & wine november 2010

1 1/2 sticks salted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1 large egg yolk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces bacon, finely diced
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut (6 1/2 ounces)
12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup salted roasted almonds, chopped
One 16-ounce jar caramel
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper, leaving up to 1 inch of overhang. Spray the paper with vegetable oil spray.

In a medium saucepan, cook the butter over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and browned, about 4 minutes. Scrape the butter into a large bowl and freeze just until solid, about 15 minutes.

Using a mixer, beat the sugar, vanilla seeds and egg yolk into the butter at medium speed until blended. Add the flour and salt and beat until moistened crumbs form. Press the crumbs into the prepared baking pan and bake in the lower third of the oven for about 25 minutes, until the crust is set and lightly browned.

Meanwhile, wipe out the bowl used to make the crust. In a medium skillet, cook the bacon over moderately high heat until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain the bacon on paper towels and let cool. In the bowl, toss the coconut with the chocolate chips, almonds and bacon.

In another bowl, whisk the caramel with the condensed milk; pour two-thirds of it in the crust. Lightly press the coconut-bacon mixture over the caramel and condensed milk mixture. Drizzle the remaining caramel mixture on top.

Bake the bars for 35 to 40 minutes, until lightly browned on top. Transfer the pan to a rack and let the bars cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Carefully remove the bars from the pan and peel off the paper. Cut into bars and serve.

Split Pea Soup

I made Split Pea Soup today for the first time. It turned out great despite my "alterations"! For the most part I followed the recipe on the bag of split peas. It went something like this..
1 pork roast bone in,
1 bag of frozen soup stock from a previous soup(mine was a mix of diced veggie scraps from "Make Ahead Meal Days") or soup stock with diced carrots celery, onion,garlic etc.
Cooked in the crock pot until the meat pulls apart,approx 4-5 hours.
Pull the majority of the meat off the bone a freeze or store for future meal.
Add meaty bone and stock into large saucepan and boil.
Rinse peas and add to stock. Simmer for about 2-3 hours,stirring frequently.
Add more pork as desired.
When the bone is boiled clean,remove it.
The recipe called for milk and it just so happen I was out so I added a can of cream of mushroom soup instead and a little water. Yum!
I cooked for another hour and WA LA!
Yummy,thick Split Pea Soup!
Cheap,easy and enough to feed an army....or at least freeze and store for the winter ahead!

I know this may seem like a silly recipe to share but I also know...
#1-how difficult it can be to think of meal ideas and
#2- how nice it is to cook dinner without a trip to the store!

The Wait Is Over

So remember the pumpkins and moss I got last weekend? I finally put it to good use today decorating the yard and front porch for fall.
Drum roll please......

Please pardon my tattered old porch. It's next summer's project...

The moss turned out better than I thought-and it was FREE!

I think it will also be soo cute at night with candles glowing inside!

What do you think?

Is the moss adorable or horrible?

But the moss doesn't stop there....

I also did another project while I was out enjoying the sunshine!

Remember this post they installed for THE REMODEL that happen here last summer?

Well, it ended up looking a little better than this but...not much. It is waiting patiently for the new deck to get built. In the meanwhile,it's one of the first things I see when I go in or out of the house...and it's not pretty.
So I did this...

All from things I collected around my yard and lots of help from the moss! I think the moss gives it a cool "aged" look. Bye bye ugly post!

I am happy I was able to complete some of my unfinished projects today

:)

So far this had been a beautiful fall!

Health,Habits &Halloween

The good news is..I'm going to live. With  the exception of a little cough and some sniffles I am ALL BETTER!!! Yaayyy! It's funny how a cold can make you appreciate things like breathing and the ability to sleep laying down.
I have found a new friend in tea. So far I am still exploring Celestial Seasonings. I like it more and more each day but I am still adding sugar and creamer.My favorite is the Country Peach mixed with Sleepy Time Extra and french vanilla creamer in the evening.I'm trying to replace bad habits with better ones but then that friggin Starbucks went and made a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate! This is the best fall and winter drink ever..mmm...I've had one a day for the last 3 days and I am counting the hours until tomorrow. I am going to try it mocha style with coffee because we all know hot chocolate won't cut it on Monday morning!
Vern and I went for a little walk near Mud Mt Dam...

and I collected a pile of moss.

I am hoping to use it for my Halloween decorations. We also went to a new fruit stand and got pumpkins and squash. I cleaned the guts out of  all 8 of them and attacked them with Vern's power drill! Are you dying to know what I did? HAHA! You'll have to wait...I'm not quite done yet...that was just a little tease :P But it's gonna be cute! Hint-Martha,Martha,Martha....Stewart that is...
I hope Monday is kind to you all
:)

The reason our knees get weak when we fall in love is because of the long walk it took to find that person.

Dreamer

 

Dreamer by Ozzy Osbourne

Who knew Ozzy could be so deep?!

Gazing through the window at the world outside

Wondering will mother earth survive
Hoping that mankind will stop abusing her sometime

After all there's only just the two of us
And here we are still fighting for our lives
Watching all of history repeat itself
Time after time

I'm just a dreamer
I dream my life away
I'm just a dreamer
Who dreams of better days

I watch the sun go down like everyone of us
I'm hoping that the dawn will bring a sign
A better place for those Who will come after us ...
This time

I'm just a dreamer
I dream my life away oh yeah
I'm just a dreamer
Who dreams of better days

Your higher power may be God or Jesus Christ
It doesn't really matter much to me
Without each others help there ain't no hope for us
I'm living in a dream of fantasy
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah

If only we could all just find serenity
It would be nice if we could live as one
When will all this anger, hate and bigotry ...
Be gone?

I'm just a dreamer
I dream my life away
Today
I'm just a dreamer
Who dreams of better days
Okay
I'm just a dreamer
Who's searching for the way
Today
I'm just a dreamer
Dreaming my life away
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah

Tea Party Anyone?

I think I am finally on the healing side of this cold!

Man,it has been a long rough struggle! For the last 2 weeks I have taken more pills than my liver or kidneys ever want to see again. I have slept too much and at times not at all. I have become very acquainted with the many types of fluids the human body produces. At times I honestly just wanted to die,I was miserable. Just when I decided to surrender and go to the Doctor.....I started to feel better.

The last two days I have felt a little better each day..oh thank you God!

Today I slept 12 hours. It was hard to sleep on such a beautiful day but the sacrifice had to be made. I need to get better. Then Vern and I went for Thai in hopes that the spicy Tom Yum soup would help cure me.

It smells like curry,garlic and lemongrass. Like most Thai food it has simple ingredients yet tastes so delicious and complex. I followed that with a cup of Celestial Seasonings Eucalyptus Wellness tea this evening (http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/detail.html/wellness-teas/echinacea-complete-care). It's the first time I can remember buying or "steeping" tea for myself. I'm a coffee girl. It wasn't good but it wasn't horrible. I drank the whole cup in the sake of good health and I was rewarded. That warm tea stopped my cough and cleared my nose almost immediately! I won't be drinking it everyday but...perhaps I will explore this tea thing further.
I found this cute photo while writing this blog and just had to share! It's proof that photographers are a little nutty...who else would think to stick a half naked baby in a pumpkin,matching hat and all?! haha Yet I strive to be this "insanely" creative someday! I heart photography :)

One more thing before I head to bed,take a peak at http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/pumpkins

and check out her carved pumpkin ideas. They are amazing and somewhat simple...This is one of my faves-

But realistically..I'm doing this instead-

and hopefully this cute project-

Use a pumpkin incense burner to suggest the cozy scent of pie just out of the oven. Cut off the pumpkin's top and scrape out the innards; carve round vents with an apple corer. Rub cinnamon or pumpkin-pie spices onto the lid, or push cloves into it. With a lighted tealight candle inside, the pumpkin will give off a lovely fragrance for about six hours.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Pumpkin Pie Potpourri - Martha Stewart Holidays 

 

Oh Martha! 

Nite :p

Happy Truffle Thoughts

I love food. I love to research it. I love to shop for it. I love to prepare it. I love smelling it.I love sharing it with others. BUT I ALSO LOVE..the happy memories it creates.
 That being said....
Allow me to be blunt. This. Summer. Sucked. Soaking wet spring to sudden triple digit weather and now a dreary fall. I have happily gardened,hiked,photographed and more in an attempt to make the best of it. Now we have been told to prepare for a long,cold winter. Check please!!In an attempt to maintain my sanity, I have turned my energy into starting a few projects around the house and...cooking. The thought of cooking through the holidays excites me! Ohhhh there is hope! Quickly I remember a recipe I found last year. Easy Oreo Truffles.MMMmmm I shared this recipe until my printer ran out of ink. Happy memories! Did I mention..I love food!? Wait..what..was I just complaining about something? I forget..so let's get back to truffles :)

Easy Oreo Truffles
Grind up one whole package of Oreos in your blender/food procesor. Save out about 1 cup of ground up Oreos and put it to the side.
 Add one 8 oz package of room temp. cream cheese to the remaining Oreos and combine well.
Then form them into one inch balls and refrigerate.
Melt one package of chocolate chips on a double broiler or very carefully in a microwave.
Dip the Oreo balls into the melted chocolate and coat well.
Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
Take the cup of ground up Oreos and sprinkle the extra crumbs all over the truffles.
Refrigerate until chocolate sets,about 20 minutes.
Enjoy!

Sicky Icky

It seems that I quickly figured out why I was grumpy the other day..I was catching a horrible cold from Vern!
We spent 3 days sleeping. It's been about a year since I had a cold and I think this one is making up for lost time! Yesterday, we drug our tattered selves to the pharmacy for Mucinex and Emergencee vitamins. Mucinex is my new best friend :) It's spendy but worth every penny.My plan of attack is to keep the sickies at bay while I load up on vitamins. I think it's working... So I returned to work today and survived a 7 hour shift..it felt like such a huge victory! Now to survive one more day of work so I can have two more days off to recover....

A Little Funky

I've just been in a bit of a funk the last two days..

I wish I could tell you why..but even I don't know.

Maybe it was because the weather lady said we would have sun..
and we had none.

I wanted to get the mulching done but ended up overwhelmed with distractions.

Sometimes I struggle with having a roommate,
this weekend was no exception.

I found an adorable iron carriage for the garden on craigslist,
but I sadly had to pass it up because it was just a little out of my price range ($30) for an unnecessary splurge.

All such silly little trivial complaints....
I guess I will assume it was one of the usual culprits-
being a woman and/or the weather. haha

On a more positive note..

Vern walked through the door today with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me! He completely surprised me! Good timing eh?! I keep saying it...this man of mine is soo amazing! I love you Vern!

The gardening and mulching that I did get done looks great!
A fresh blanket of bark mulch makes the Hens and Chicks look all snuggled in for winter :)

I have been researching and reading about gardening like a madwoman and by the time spring comes..
I will be prepared!
I will have a plan!
My newly fenced in yard will be adorable!
My gardens will be plentiful!
My wallet will be empty!

I also got to spend some time with one of my bestest friends.She is making some sobering life changes and I am very proud of her!