Mock - Orange Julius

Orange Julius (dairy free & sugar free)
1 can frozen orange juice (12 oz)
2 cups ice water
2 cups unsweetened almond silk
1 cup granular spenda
2 tsp vanilla
Blend together in your blender.

Then I use this mix to make about 8 - 10 drinks. We place 4-6 ice cubes in our magic bullet, cover with juice mix & blend away.

We always enjoy one fresh then I put away the extras for snacks throughout the week. Juice mix stores in the fridge for about 1 week. Enjoy!

A Day of Memories. . .

Alright so it started back in September of 1997. We met on a blind date. That blind date was amazing! I didn't think so at the time, I thought Big Daddy was the typical guy trying to impress me. He apparently did impress me because I called him next and asked him to go to devotional with me on Tuesday. He said he normally watched the devotional in the theater arts building and so that's where we went. We saw each other everyday from that point on.

On October 19th, Big Daddy proposed. Surprised me and I surprised him too letting him know I needing to think about it. I said yes the same day, later in the evening. I already knew I wanted to marry him. We were engaged and started planning our wedding date and all the other fun stuff that goes along with getting married. We rented our first apartment by putting a deposit in on it in February and holding it by paying "most" of the rent on it every month for the landlord to hold it for us since we loved it compared to everything else out there. I'm telling you our friends all hung out at our place because it was roomy and didn't have pigeons living in it with us. Oh, and, the bathroom was not IN the kitchen.

Big Daddy had a goal not to kiss until he could kiss his wife. So, not really fond of this idea, I tried with all my might to sway him away from his goal. I really did try! But, he when he has a goal he is trying to attain, he reaches it. So, that's right we didn't kiss until. . .

May 15, 1998 over the altar.


On our wedding day, we walked over to Wendy's, we weren't hungry - just thirsty from all the kissing we had to do to make up for lost time, and we both ordered BIGGIE Pink Lemonades. So, in honor of our wedding day, we always have gone to Wendy's and gotten pink lemonades to celebrate. A couple of years ago, Wendy's stopped carrying their pink lemonade. So, now we make our own. So today, I made pink lemonade. I didn't have enough to make TWO BIGGIE pink lemonades so I made one pink and one blue raspberry lemonade. That's our two glasses we typically use. D-for Dad and M-Mom. Big Daddy even called today and asked if we could make a date for some lemonade. I love that man!
So, here we are today. . . a portion of our journey together completed and lots of years ahead of us. This is our first anniversary apart. Lucky 13! Seeing how we have been in the military for almost 10 years, we do consider ourselves lucky.

I'm so happy with the choice I made those many years ago to marry Big Daddy. He brings a smile to my face, still makes my heart flutter and holding his hand is still one of my FAVORITE things to do!

Sweetheart, Happy Anniversary! I love you!

Wk 1 and a Few Confessions

• We survived the first week of Big Daddy's current deployment. Here are a few of the highlights. . .

Picture Credit

• 
  
  So, as you can see from the picture above, I think I might be the one who leaves the toilet paper roll empty. Sorry, Big Daddy, I have blamed you plenty in the past.


• 
  
  Miss Priss announced proudly as we were leaving the airport: "If Daddy dies, we will be fine." She was very matter of fact about it and wasn't upset at all.


• 
  
  Things that have broken this week: the master bathroom sink stopper, Big Daddy's drivers window won't go down, and the second scrubbing bubbles automatic shower sprayer (I keep killing them - not sure how but if it makes a sound like an elephant trumpeting underwater, it will stop working in less than 48 hours)


• 
  
  We have had one adult chicken die. Not sure why. . . Three of the 6 baby chicks we transfered over to the big coop also died - I'm sure that was the pecking order.


• 
  
  The roof on the house is finished! Yay!! I about went bonkers with all the pounding. Now the only thing left is to paint the rest of the vents.


• 
  
  I officially joined the gym and have had good sore muscles and I'm liking it. I still prefer my old gym but distance makes it impossible to go.


• 
  
  I've opened Big Daddy's deodorant and smelled it twice. I miss his smell. Not the Ooh, honey I just got done working out give me a big ol' hug smell but his nice clean smell.


• 
  
  Made a great recipe for dinner this past week : Mango Chicken Rice it was super yummy and a keeper recipe for our family


• 
  
  Diva got her progress report and all looks good 6 A's and a B


• 
  
  Cowgirl has a for sure contagious laugh. She starts to giggle and in no time others have joined in.


• 
  
  I've enjoyed a few solid cadbury chocolate eggs with the pastel coating on them. Thank you Walgreens for marking down the individual packs in your after Easter sale to $0.18 each. I'm praying the 5 bags I bought last a while (remember they are tiny bags). I do love chocolate!


• 
  
  On Sunday, we played a game in senior primary where we sang some opera and silly monster voices. I LOVE singing opera style and the kids love it too. My silly monster voice was a ridiculously high squeaky voice and the kids were laughing so hard. I do enjoy my calling!


• 
  
  Drama Queen was wanting to test out the Lord by asking Him multiple times the same question hoping He would change his answer for her. She has since talked to me and says she doesn't think it would be a good idea to test the Lord like Joseph did when Martin Harris wanted to take the 116 pages of translated materials. Thank goodness the girl must have thought about it on her own.


• 
  
  I've slept with all the lights out! That's a biggie for me.

Let's Talk About Me. . .

This next year is gonna be tough! I am a super strong woman with lots of talents and skills and I can conquer practically anything! I am. . .

1. a military wife


2. a mother


3. a daughter


4. a sister


5. a friend


6. a teacher


7. a lover


8. a wonderful singer


9. a great cook


10. a seamstress


11. an artist


12. an organizing junkie


13. a chicken rancher


14. a gardener


15. STRONG, FUN & LOVED!

Spring Family Pics

Big Daddy & Little Mama

Kissing! Love Miss Priss' face. Climbing trees makes taking pics more fun!

Family. . . isn't it about time.

A big BIG thanks to Dee Miller for being our photographer!

Busy!

Picture Credit

We have been busy! Sorry for the lack of posts. This is what we've been up to. . .

• 
  
  planting more trees in the orchard


• 
  
  making a flower box


• 
  
  organizing the shed


• 
  
  making a teeter totter for the girls


• 
  
  organizing and rearranging the office


• 
  
  cutting and trimming the mesquite trees


• 
  
  burning the brush and having the fire department show up


• 
  
  shooting at the neighbors dog when it's on our property (the dog is now missing and the neighbors blame us)


• 
  
  building a new chicken coop


• 
  
  buying a few new chicks


• 
  
  going to the coast to get sunburned


• 
  
  sleeping on the trampoline


• 
  
  hanging out with friends


• 
  
  working


• 
  
  looking into the homeschool options for next year for the 3 oldest


• 
  
  going to the zoo


• 
  
  melting plastic in the dishwasher


• 
  
  taking pictures of the Big Moon


• 
  
  making spaghetti sauce and almost catching on fire


• 
  
  getting the lawn tractor fixed


• 
  
  spending way too much money at Lowes


• 
  
  and preparing for Big Daddy's Deployment

We've been spending TONS of time together as a family. That's what counts!

Loose Meat Burgers

Don't these look delish?? These are a family favorite. We have never lived in the mid-west and tasted one of these at an "authentic" loose meat burger joint. However, we did see a Food Network special on the best burgers and a burger similar to this one was featured. I sought out many recipes and found one our family liked and have tweeked it more to our family's tastes.

Loose Meat Burgers

2-2.5 lbs. Lean Ground Beef (90% lean or better)

1 Cup Water

Place the meat and the water in a large deep pot. Cook of medium high heat and stir constantly. You want to have a nice crumble on your meat. Once the meat is cooked and is about 1/2 done you want to add:

2 Yellow Onions (minced in the food processor or finely chopped)

1 Tablespoon Garlic (fresh - I use the jarred stuff)

Continue to stir and cook until all the meat is browned. (If you did not use super lean meat, you will need to drain your beef. I prefer using the lean meat so I skip this step.) Now you are going to add:

2 Tablespoons Yellow Mustard

2 Tablespoons White Vinegar

3 Packets Splenda (2 Tablespoons granular Splenda)

Mix into your meat and continue to boil until moisture is cooked out 15-20 minutes. (If you had to drain your meat, you want to cover your meat with water and simmer it off. Don't skip this step.) Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over toasted buns with pickle slices and lots of mustard. Enjoy!

This can be gluten free if you serve them naked without the bun! Super delish in a bowl as left-overs the next day.

Let it Snow

Picture Credit

Lots happening around here. Well, it seems like a lot but it really isn't.

Monday evening, we had a cold front move into our little Patch of Heaven. We had a temperature swing of about 60 degrees. Chilly I must say! The cold front brought with it winds -- high winds. High winds lifted some of our shingles and even blew some of them off our wonderful house. Now I don't know about you guys but we often say in our prayers we are thankful for the shelter our home provides us - and yes, we are still thankful but a little bummed. We had Mr. K's (Diva's boyfriend) dad - isn't it great to have connections - come and do the temporary fix on the roof. He is thinking the whole roof will need replacing. Yikes! So, the insurance adjuster is coming today to give us his opinion. Please pray for us!!!! Having the insurance cover the necessary fixes will be a huge blessing.

And the praying continues. . . all my girls are praying for snow. The weather man hinted at it about a week ago and since then, that's all we hear about. Miss Priss informed us she needs snow boots! Yep, for the freak once every 5 years snow storm. I told her we would get her some new rain boots and that would have to work. The weather man is still predicting snow for later today. Cowgirl said she would build the biggest snowman our family has ever built. I hate to be the one to inform her we will likely only see a dusting. I hope for her we get enough to create at least a mini snowman.

There have already been some alterations to the menu for this week. We didn't do beef stroganoff last night because of the rolling black-outs. I wasn't sure if we would have power and sure enough during the time we were gone for supper, we had another outage. I'm hoping we don't have those outages all day again today. We ended up getting burgers from a super yummy burger joint up in the big city. Yes, a little bit of a drive but SO worth it last night. Oh, and tonights supper plans have changed too - it still needs to be somewhat soft since the three older girls are all getting there braces tightened this afternoon - so, we will be having beef stew and some homemade yummy bread. With the temps outside not planning on getting very warm today, I figured the stew would be super yummy.

Oh, and in exciting news, we are planning our summer vacation! Guess where we are going! No matter what happens with the roof we are going - we haven't gone on a vacay for over a year and I'm going stir crazy!

Easy Corn Chowder

Gather your ingredients:

• 4 medium sized potatoes peeled and diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• water
• 2 cans creamed corn
• 1 can mexicorn, drained
• 2 cans evaporated milk
  Dice potatoes and onion and place in pot. Cover with water, just enough to fully cover. Bring to a boil and boil about 10-15 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Add drained mexicorn, creamed corn and evaporated milk. Turn down the heat because the sugars in the creamed corn with burn on the bottom. Heat through & serve.

Enjoy in a yummy bread bowl and serve with some fresh veggies.

Bread Bowls

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon yeast (or 1 packet)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

3 cups white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten

Dissolve sugar in warm water. Add yeast and stir to dissolve. Let rest until creamy - about 10 minutes. Measure dry ingredients into kitchenaid mixer bowl. Add creamy yeast mixture and set on 2. Once all the dough comes together, allow to continue mixing (kneading) for about 5 minutes. You can add up to 1/2 cup more flour if needed. Form dough into a large circle. Cut into 6 wedges and form each wedge into a ball. Place on greased baking sheet. Let rise 30 minutes (I do this in my dryer). Bake at 425*F for 20-25 minutes. You can use a basic egg wash or spritz the bread bowls with water several times during the baking process for a crispier crust.

Ravioli Chicken Not-sagna

The ingredients (there's only 4):

• Your Favorite Pasta Sauce
• Your Favorite Frozen Ravioli
• Frozen Chicken Strips
• 8 oz. Shredded Mozzarella

Grab a 9x13 baking dish. Start with the sauce put about 1/2 into the bottom. Place a layer of chicken strips and then a layer of ravioli. Top with the remaining sauce. Cover and bake at 400*F for 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and top with cheese. Return to oven for 10 minutes to melt the cheese. I always broil mine for the last few minutes. As you can see, I got distracted and my cheese got a little too browned. :o)
See, super simple quick fix! Yum and kid friendly to boot!

1/31 - 2/6

Monday 1/31 - Ravioli Chicken Not-sangna

Tuesday 2/1 - Corn Chowder in Bread Bowls

Wednesday 2/2 - Beef Stroganoff

Thursday 2/3 - Peanut Butter Pancakes & Eggs

Friday 2/4 - Meatball Pizza

Saturday 2/5 - Concert & Fair Food

Sunday 2/6 - Chicken & Dumplings

I'm gonna start posting more of my recipes. I'll link them up once I enter them in.

This week is a little busy but not too bad. All the girls have dental appointments today. So far, Miss Priss had a perfect check up! Yay for her! We were told by the dentist to plan on braces for her in about 2 years. Yep, I knew that would happen.

Wednesday night for Activity Days we are going to be learning how to make bread. We will supply the bread for our next sacrament meeting which will be the 13th of February since we have stake conference this next weekend. I'm really looking forward to it. I hope the girls learn something new and fun.

I'll be posting more later. . . I've gotten pretty bad at not blogging. . . guess that's what happens when life is busy. . .

What's Missing?

Yesterday, the family took a full inventory of what treasures were in the freezer. I set my mind this morning that I wanted broccoli cheese soup. So, before I pulled out the broccoli to allow it to thaw, I referenced my list so I could cross it off. Here is what I read on my list:

• 2 creamed corn
• 6 bags corn on the cob
• 1/2 bag corn niblets
• 3 bags baby lima beans
• 2 bags fordhook lima beans
• 2 bags purple hull peas
• 1 bag field peas with snap beans
• 2 bags butter beans
• 1 1/2 bags peas and carrots
• 3 bags asperagas
• 1 bag peas
• 2 bags speckled butter beans
• 1 bag tater tots
• 1/2 bag hash browns
• green chili (lots)
• 1 1/2 bags baby california blend
• 1 bag cut green beans
• 2 1/2 sams club bags whole green beans
• 1 1/2 sams club bags normandy blend mixed vegetables
• 2 boxes chopped spinach

NO BROCCOLI!!!!!! Seriously!

(Picture credit)

Yep, That Smile

Remember when your kids were little and you could get that super special smile. Yes, the one that would melt your heart. You knew it was for you because of the great bond and love you have for one another. The day has come where "that smile" isn't just for us anymore. Diva is giving her smile to another someone special. Her first boyfriend, Mr. K, is stealing our smiles.

Please Tell Me This Happens To You Too. . .

I spent the day at home today waiting for Big Daddy's new shed/workshop to arrive but that didn't happen - the truck broke down so we are supposed to be the first delivery in the morning. Yay!



It's pretty cold here today. I think it might have gotten up to 38 degrees. Pretty chilly if I do say so myself.



I wandered out to check the mail and should have grabbed a sweater or a jacket but I didn't. I was moving quickly but became very curious about something in one of our burn piles. You take a look. . . (it's a bit yucky so you are warned)



What do you think that is?? I think it's a cows spine, that's what Big Daddy thinks too. Some dog must have drug it into our yard (Patch of Heaven). Seriously gross, huh?! The funniest part is when I showed the girls, Drama Queen was facinated and wanted to be the one to show everyone else. I headed back in to the warmth of the house and let her share the discovery. I was only able to observe through the window but you would have thought all the girls lost a long time family pet. The looks on their faces were so sad - guess that's life in the country - you never know what the dog will drag home (even if it isn't your dog). . .