Projects in works

I love refinishing furniture. Love it. Well my hubby brings me home pieces every now & then to do. This time it was a large mirror. Though my garden us in extreme need of getting weeded before everyone gets here i couldn't help, but quickly do this piece to hang up before everyone shows. It's not quite done, but close. Just needs a sealer & to dry. Here is s glimpse:

Before:


After:




I will show you the finished project as soon as it is hanging in my living room.

Until later . . .

Menu Monday - on Tuesday :0)

This Week's Menu     
       As always there are a few repeats from last week onto this week, because I ended up not cooking a couple of those meals, so they just get bumped to this next week.  I already know I have everything on hand to make them, so why not. The Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken from Chef in Training was actually pretty good. I think I will make it again. 
         This week is already crazy & I am already stressed. It my birthday on Saturday. I am turning 30 on the 30th. It feels like a big number to me.  But most importantly:  We are a having almost all of our family (on both sides) in town for the weekend because we are blessing my beautiful baby on Sunday. Which means 71 people will be hanging out at my house . . . . see the stress? So we are trying to get things put together, made, straightened. & finishing the last details that you need when that many people come to celebrate. So yeah. I shouldn't even be on the computer today, but I just needed to say hi. (Hi!) Then I will get back to work. So here is what we are eating this week. 


Monday:
        B- Waffles
        L - Mac 'N Cheese
        D- Monterrey Chicken w/ Corn on the Cob


Tuesday: 
         B- Ranchos  Juevos
         L- Undecided
         D - Rice Sausage Casserole.

- Informal recipe for my dear friend Barb:    Make about 2 cups of rice, brown the sausage of your choice. I usually do 1 lb, but we like sausage. Chop up some celery. Open 2 (or whatever it needs to be moist) cans of cream of mushroom soup. Mix it all together in your cake pan. I sometimes add a little soy sauce if it needs some salt. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until hot all the way through. Eat & Enjoy.   It isn't fancy but we still like it every now & then.

Wednesday:  
          B- Sticky Rolls
          L - Leftovers
          D-  Beef Noodles

Thursday:
      B-     Cream of Wheat/Oatmeal
      L -    Enchiladas
      D -  Crockpot Honey Mustard Chicken


Friday: 
  B- Cream Egg on Toast
  L - Pork Fajitas
  D-  Funeral Potatoes


Saturday: 
        B. Eggs & Hash browns
        L- Not sure - We are supposed to be at a baptism, for my hubbies family. Who knows where we will
             be.
        D.-  Spaghetti or Tacos. Something for a crowd, because I am not sure how many I will be feeding.

Sunday:  
        B- Fruit & Muffins/Cold Cereal
        D - Our Huge Dinner:   Roast, Salads, Rolls, &  Desserts  w/ a pinata for fun. 

Baking:  Homemade Wheat Bread,  Sunday Treats, Rolls



As always I am linking up to Organizing Junkie. 

This Week's TO DO

• Weed flower beds & Garden 
• Finish Sanding & Painting in Boys room & Tables we are building
• Clean, Clean, Clean!!! 
• Breathe
• Enjoy this weekend . . .
•  

Taxidermist

Awhile ago for home school group we went on a field trip to learn a little more about taxidermy. My kids are great lovers of outdoors & all things hunting (thanks to their dad); so this was awesome. The wife started by reading this cute book about a elk that looses his antlers, but doesn't know why. It was quite cute & she was very animated & had the kids enthralled. 

       The boys did extremely well, listening to her & what she had to say. My boys even brought notebooks so they could take notes. They didn't want to miss a thing.  It was cute.

Touching a moose paddle. My boys have seen many antlers & moose paddles before, but for a lot of these kids & their moms this was a first. 

            About half way through the presentation, just as the kids started getting restless, they were all given a "spotting scope" & were told to search the house for the animals that had used  their natural camouflage to blend in. My kids thought it was awesome. They all took home a toy animal & spotting scope & we played this game for days afterwards.

                         This is what the inside of a taxidermy animals is made out of. This one is for a porcupine. I had never seen the inside up close, my boys that was pretty neat.

They  let the kids after everything was done touch some of the deer & elk that were mounted. My kids thought it was pretty interesting, but were a little sad they couldn't see a whole lot more up close.  Like a current project he was working or to watch him work. But with this many kids & some of them a little crazy, I can understand.  Either way they still left with more  knowledge when they came & they had a good time as well. 

Homemade Tortilla Strips

Last night I was making dinner & on the menu was  Santa Fe chicken. After sampling it, I wanted some tortilla chips to go with it. We normally we have some on hand, but last night we were out. I remembered months ago I tried making some & they were good, so I quickly made some.





 Homemade tortilla chips
Ingredients:
Corn tortilla shells
Oil (I used canola, because that is what I had on hand)
Salt.

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

Take your corn shell & brush oil on both sides of them. I stack mine one on top of another. Once all the oil is brushed on, I cut mine into strips.






Once you have cut them to the size & shape you want. Lay them out on a cookie sheet & salt them.





Then put then into the oven to bake. I bake mine 15-20 minutes depending on how hot it is. I turn them over with a spatula about halfway through the time they need to cook.
When they are as golden as you want pull them out & let them cool. I taste one ( and usually burn my tongue :0). sometimes I add a little more salt. Or any other seasonings you enjoy.





Once they are cooled eat & enjoy.

Sunshine

My in-laws had a pretty bad week last week, so the boys & I decided we wanted to send them a care package to let them know we were thinking about them. After thinking about it for a while I remembered I saw an idea on pinterest (here) & thought it would be perfect.





We decided to send them sunshine in a box.



We filled it with yellow items, you can see above what we added. The yellow flower thing is actually an ice cube tray. Then we made a card with a sun on it & a note that said: "We heard last week didn't go too hot . . . You might just need a little more sunshine, or so we thought."

Then off it went to North Dakota, hopefully it brightened their day. Either way, I thought it was too cute not to share.

Is there anyone you know that could use a little more sunshine?

Menu Monday

This Week's Menu     
   Well last week I did end up making Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin, & it was yummy. I will add that to our menu again.  As you know, I decided to take a little Road Trip last week, while my hubby was away. So there will be a few repeats for meals this week. Also my hubby will start being home a bit more for lunch which means I can't eat like Peanut Butter Sandwiches every day for lunch, so I need to start planning those as well. 

Monday:
        B- Whole Wheat Pancake
        L - Shepherds Pie
        D- With Friends . . .


Tuesday: 
         B- Omelets
         L- Undecided
         D - Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken from Chef in Training

Wednesday:  
          B-Waffles
          L - Hawaiian Haystacks
          D-  Beef Noodles

Thursday:
      B-     Cream of Wheat/Oatmeal
      L -    Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
      D -  Barbecue Blue Cheese Pork Chops from The Fit Cook

Friday: 
  B- Sausage & Eggs
  L - Pork Fajitas
  D-  Sausage Rice Casserole

Saturday: 
        B. Cream Egg Toast
        L- Enchiladas
        D.-  Tin Foil Dinners 

Sunday:  
        B- Pancakes  
        D - Herb Roasted Chicken w/ Steamed Veggies 

Baking:  Homemade Wheat Bread,  Sunday Treats


As always I am linking up to Organizing Junkie. 

This Week's TO DO

• Weed flower beds & Garden 
• Finish Sanding & Painting current project (more to come later!)
• Dentist Appointments
• Finish Slippers I am working on
• Clean & Organize 
• Finish Appliqueing my pink/red Quilt
• Any else that life happen to throw at me : ) 

Road trip

We made an impromptu road trip last night to come visit grandparents, siblings, & cousins while they hubby is gone this week.
We will probably head home tomorrow so I can still get stuff done before the hubby returns. I also have some projects that I am working on that I am excited to show you too. Today though we are chilling.



Hanging out with family & cousins.


I hope your having a good day too. Happy Wednesday ya'll & we will talk to you soon.