five question friday

I've found a new Friday post topic thanks to My Little Life. This should be something fun to look forward to! If you wish, head over to her blog and check it out!



This week's questions...
1. Did you have a favorite blanket or toy as a kid? If so, do you still have it?
2. Do you dream in color?
3. How tall are you? Do you wish you were shorter or taller?
4. If you could have anyone's (celeb or other) voice as the guide on your GPS, who would it be?
5. Do you return your shopping cart to the corral or leave it wherever in the parking lot?

My Answers...

1. Did you have a favorite blanket or toy as a kid? If so, do you still have it? No, I do not have any favorite blankets or toys that I've kept into adulthood. Looking back though, I would guess that my Barbie dolls, my Sweet Valley Twin books, and my bicycle would be my favorite toys from my childhood.
2. Do you dream in color? Yes. Although most of the time I cannot specifically recall what I dream about, I do know it is pretty real life stuff, so yes, it's in color. I cannot think of a single time I've dreamed in black & white.
3. How tall are you? Do you wish you were shorter or taller? I'm 5 foot 3 inches flat footed. I guess that's pretty average, but I would love to be a few inches taller...guess that explains all the heels in my closet:)
4. If you could have anyone's (celeb or other) voice as the guide on your GPS, who would it be? I've never thought about this before this moment. Although I have thought on many occasions that I'm not too crazy about the female voice my GPS does have. Just off the top of my head I would say Patrick Dempsey's voice. It sounds pretty good on the Mazda vehicle commercials, so I think I would be satisfied with it!
5. Do you return your shopping cart to the corral or leave it wherever in the parking lot? I'll be 100% honest - I do not return the shopping cart to the corral all the time. If my kids are shopping with me (which is a majority of the time) it all depends on how close the corral is to my car. I do my best to part as close to the corral as possible, so that the chance of the shopping cart getting returned to the proper location increases, but sometimes it's just not possible. Now on those rare occasions I am shopping with children, then yes, the shopping card does get returned...period.

the wednesday dish

This recipe was given to me by a friend I worked with while in college. She made this for a potluck style lunch we had at work, and it was a huge hit with everyone. That said, if I'm guessing correctly, I've been making this chicken spaghetti for 5-6 years.
Disclaimer: This recipe makes a ton of food, but luckily, it is one of those foods that is even better warmed over.

chicken spaghetti

Ingredients:

• 3 cups chicken - seasoned as you wish and fried in a bit of oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup butter
• 12 oz angel hair pasta, cooked and drained
• 1 block Mexican Velveeta, cubed (if large block use half, if small block use all)
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 can Rotel Tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen english peas
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Preparation:

Saute onion and bell pepper with the butter in a large skillet until tender. Add cream of mushroom, rotel, peas, worsteshire sauce and cooked chicken. Stir until well mixed. Add cubed Velveeta and stir until melted. Mix angel hair pasta in.

*BOOK REVIEW* Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood

Ben Sherwood's book Charlie St.Cloud (originally published under the title The Life and Death of Charlie St.Cloud) takes you on a journey with Charlie, a guy that is in his late 20s and haunted by a tragic accident that took the life of his kid brother 13 years earlier. Since the night Sam died and Charlie lived, Charlie has carried a huge secret; he can see his brother's ghost, and this, Charlie will find, is part blessing and curse.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - I literally could not put it down! It had an entertaining storyline with just enough of the unexpected to make it almost magical. What if we could see and communicate with our loved ones who have died - this story brings that ability to life. They always make the best books into movies, and Charlie St.Cloud the movie is coming out at the end of the month, so you know the book has got to be good!!!

For God So Loved...

Untitled from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

the wednesday dish

I've been making these cheese biscuits for almost 10 years. My mother-in-law made these biscuits for breakfast the very first weekend I spent at her house (about 2 months after my husband and I started dating), and she was nice enough to share the recipe with me:)

cheese biscuits

Ingredients:

• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese


• 2 cups self-rising flour


• 1 cup butter


• 8 oz sour cream
  

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients by hand. Roll into balls and place in greased muffin pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes or until tops begin to brown. This recipe yields approximately 18 biscuits.

*BOOK REVIEW* The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

Stephenie Meyer's new book, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner gives readers a look into what life is like for a newborn vampire. Bree Tanner, the main character in this novella, was first introduced to readers in Eclipse, the third book in the Twilight Saga. In this new book, you get to experience life along with Bree; the fears and friendships she uncovers, and her ultimate revelation - that she was created to go to Forks, WA and the battle with the Cullens.

As the title implies, Bree's vampire life is short, and therefore, so is this book. If you have not read the Twilight Saga this book will probably bore you, because there are many things that will only make sense if you have prior knowledge of them. If you have read the Twilight series, this should be an easy and enjoyable read. Be aware that this book is not broken down into chapters, so it is very hard to put down - there is never a good stopping point. If you don't read this book in one sitting, you will be left hanging each time you put it down!

what bugs me

I am terrified of bugs -when they are in my house - and when I'm the only one home to kill them!

With the exception of those teeny spiders you sometimes find in your bathtub and sugar ants that sometimes invade your kitchen, I'm a bug wimp. I cannot stand the thought of stomping or smashing them. Even pesky flies. It just grosses me out. Instead of using a shoe or rolled up newspaper, I prefer a bottle of Hot Shot - squirt the heck out of those nasty bugs and watch them slowly...very slowly as the case was today...die.

Once I'm absolutely certain that the bug is dead I'm faced with the job of disposing the bug body. I seriously think I hate this part more than the killing part. I'll go grab a wad (half a roll) of toilet paper, and stand poised over the dead bug. At this point, I'm praying either the thing will just disappear, my husband will stop by and I can hand the toilet paper to him, or one of my kids will heroically offer to get the bug for me. Never in my lifetime of getting rid of bugs has one of these three things happened.

Instead the scene usually plays out like this: Me standing over the bug with my toilet paper, just staring down offering up the prayer mentioned in the above paragraph. The kids crouched very near the scene looking between me and the bug, and asking "What are you doing mommy?". Me responding "I hate bugs! Jules, do you want to pick it up for me?" Jules replying "No" verbally and with a firm shake of her head and look of disgust that I would even ask her such a question. A few more minutes pass with us looking at the bug, and I FINALLY sike myself up enough to reach down, grab the nasty thing in the toilet paper, and run screaming "I hate bugs!" over and over again as I make my way to the nearest toilet to throw and flush the bug down in one fluid motion.

After all the drama is over, my breathing will return to normal, the kids will start playing again, and I'll wonder to myself...did God give me a little boy, because he knew I needed someone who would want to kill bugs for mommy one day? Must be one of the reasons at least, because Jules and I are just too girlie to kill bugs, and we'll gladly hand the job over to Griff whenever he's ready.

oh the joys of shopping

You may want to stop in your local Old Navy store to see what kind of clearance clothes they have available. If your Old Navy is anything like the one I visited yesterday, they have a huge section in the back of their store that is nothing but adult clearance items. I didn't have the time to browse the clearance racks as closely as I would have liked, but a pair of jeans did jump out at me.

As you can see, they are very dark denim. Perfect, in my opinion, to pair with a sweater and boots during the winter weather!

I also loved the fact that these jeans were sort of on the dressy side...not your typical looking jean. Other than the way they looked and the way they fit, there was one more thing that I loved about these jeans...

...THE PRICE!!!

At $1.97 there was NO WAY I wasn't taking these jeans home!!!!!!!!!!

the wednesday dish

I tried this recipe for the first time tonight. I paired it with a chicken casserole and deviled eggs. I know there is no picture of my finished product, and this week that is on purpose. When I pulled the pearl onion and broccoli back out of the oven, I thought about grabbing my camera, but to be honest, it wasn't that pretty, so I opted to skip the picture. It was pretty tasty, and definitely a recipe I will make again though. It was a nice twist on plain old broccoli and cheese.

pearl onion broccoli bake

Ingredients:

• 2 14oz packages frozen broccoli cuts
• 4 cups frozen pearl onions
• 1/2 cup butter, divided
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups milk
• 6 oz cream cheese, cubed
• 2 cups bread crumbs
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preparation:

1. In a large saucepan, cook the broccoli in 1 inch of water until almost tender; drain. Cook pearl onions in 1 inch of water until almost tender, drain.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/4 butter; stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in cream cheese until smooth and blended.
3. Place broccoli and onions in creased 9x13 baking dish. Add sauce and gently stir to coat. Toss bread crumbs and cheese together, and sprinkle on top of broccoli and onion mixture. Pour remaining, melted butter evenly on top.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until topping is golden brown.

retail-me-not

Do you ever shop online? I know I do. With a 3 year old and an almost 2 year old, I've found that online shopping is sometimes much easier than the real, get-in-the-car, drive-to-the-store kind. My kids are like little, ticking, time bombs when it's time to shop. Even if they're in a pleasant mood when we arrive at the store, and Griff actually doesn't have a fit that he has to ride in the shopping cart or stroller, while Jules gets to walk, I can just about bet money on the fact that the happy mood will not last. I am so sure of this that I keep two lollipops on me at all times, just in case I need to bribe my kids into remaining calm at least until I can get through a check-out. I hate giving my kids candy, because my kids get hyper on air much less sugar, but sometimes it keeps mommy from loosing her sanity, and in those moments, a little sugar - ok, a lot of sugar - is worth all the stickiness and hyper activeness that follows.

So now you sort of understand why, if at all possible, I will just shop online. Here's the problem though. I love the convenience online shopping brings, but I cannot stand having to pay shipping charges for something I can run to the store to purchase as well (guess that's the bargain hunting, coupon clipping Kristen coming out). Basically, I'll shop online as long as I don't feel like I'm being ripped off, cannot purchase or easily purchase what I need in a nearby store, or, most importantly, if I can find a promotional code to use at the online checkout. Those promotional codes are little blessings I assure you, and they are easier to find than you might think!!!

Just go to http://www.retailmenot.com/, type in the website you are shopping on (example: orientaltrading.com) and a list of promotional codes appears. Now granted, not every, single online store will have promotional codes to offer, but if a store does, you will find it on the retailmenot website. This site has saved me so much money, and I will not check out online without first going to retailmenot's site to see what kind of money I can save. Just this week, I bought some party supplies from Oriental Trading for my son's upcoming birthday party. I checked http://www.retailmenot.com/, and found a promotional code that gave me free shipping and $5 off my order. Needless to say, my day had been made:)

Don't forget about this fabulous site...it can save you money too!

saw it & loved it

Eclipse was excellent! Not sure it was the best out of the three Twilight Saga movies, as I've been told it was, but it met all my expectations without a doubt. Once again, Kristen, Robert and Taylor made Bella, Edward and Jacob come alive!


Watching this movie made me think for the very first time that maybe Bella should have given Jacob a chance (that's a lot coming from me..a huge Edward fan). You could feel the love Jacob had for Bella even more than you could in New Moon, and it really made me wonder how different the story would have been had Bella chosen Jacob.


Unfortunately, I was not able to make the June 30 midnight premier. Here in Virginia, I know no one, so if I had went to the premier I would have went alone...that idea didn't appeal to me at all. I'm sorry I missed all the premier fun my friends back home have told me about. I definitely could have handled paying $17.50 for a ticket to show up at the theater at 7pm to watch Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse back to back on the big screen. Oh well, part 1 of Breaking Dawn is only 16 months away, so I'll just have to wait for that midnight premier.


I had to wait an agonizing 2 days after Eclipse debuted before I was able to take me turn to see it! I made it to the theater on Saturday for the 11:45am showing. Patrick dropped me off at the theater, and then occupied the kids by taking them to Walmart, the mall and Chick-fil-a. I was certain the theater would be packed, but by 11:30, nobody else had shown up, so I figured it wouldn't be sold out after all. When the theater lights dimmed at 11:45, I was the only person in the theater!!! I watched Eclipse alone, literally. That was sort of a neat experience. Certainly the first time I had been in a theater all by myself. I think it made the movie sort of more personal, but I really missed watching the movie for the first time surrounded by other Twilight fans. When I went to theater to see New Moon the day after it opened last November the theater was packed, and when Jacob took his shirt off for the first time when Bella fell of the motorcycle, many in the crowd clapped and cheered. I wonder had there been a packed theater this time, what moments would have brought cheers and applause. I have my suspicions, but I won't reveal anything, because you may not have seen the movie for yourself. Nevertheless, I did see the movie, and that's really all that matters.

Now I just have to sit back and wait for it to come out on DVD, so I can watch it repeatedly for at least a month- or until I can quote it - whichever comes first!

*BOOK REVIEW* Storm Warning by Billy Graham

Storm Warning by Billy Graham has two main, corresponding components. The first is an in depth look at the visions the apostle John was given while on exile on the isle of Patmos. These visions were of the 4 Horsemen and 7 Seals that will one day be unleashed on the earth as described in the book of Revelation. While explaining John's visions in detail, Graham intertwines current events, and events in recent history that prove that the 4 Horsemen could well be on their way to earth to set the end times into motion. Billy Graham uses much Scripture throughout this book to back up his writing, and his authority as a Man of God can easily be sensed.
This is the first Billy Graham book I have read, so I am not able to compare it to any of his other works. Standing alone tough, this book was pretty good. It was fairly easy to read, and the current events mentioned and stories shared made John's visions extremely relevant in our modern world. I loved the fact that several times in the book, Graham clearly lays out the plan of Salvation and literally begs those not ready for the return of Christ to take head to the hoof beats that can already be heard in the distance.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not asked to write a positive review, but simply, an honest one.

the wednesday dish

This is one of my favorite desserts! It's easy to make. Only 6 ingredients, one of which is Oreo cookies, so you know it's got to be good. I will warn you though, it is very rich, and highly addictive!

oreo delight

Ingredients:

• 1 package of Oreo cookies
• 1 8oz package of cream cheese
• 1 cup of butter
• 3 cups of milk
• 1 16oz Cool Whip
• 2 3oz packages of Jell-O French Vanilla Instant Pudding

Preparation:

Crumble Oreos and pack them firmly into a 9x13 container to make a crust. *Save a handful to decorate the top.

Melt butter and pour over the Oreo crust.

Mix pudding and milk in a separate bowl and set aside.

Mix by hand cream cheese and 1/2 of Cool Whip in a separate bowl.

Combine the pudding and cream cheese mixtures stirring by hand until blended. Pour the mixture over the Oreo crust.

Top with the remaining Cool Whip and crumbled Oreos.

let's get this party started

I'm one of those moms. I live to plan birthday parties for my kids! Without any forethought on my part, I managed to have my oldest in the month of March and my youngest in the month of September. It's perfect this way - six months in between each party. It gives me plenty of time to prepare for each one, and this is essential, because I start planning their parties 2-3 months ahead of time.

I sort of feel sorry for the moms whose kids' birthdays fall one month after another - or goodness, more than one birthday in a month! How stressful to be simultaneously planning more than one child's party, and how hard to get family and friends together over and over again. Plus, it would just be lousy to have one time each year, where you cram in party planning and birthday celebrations, and then have to wait another full year for such excitement to roll around again.

Yes, I definitely feel lucky in the fact that I can begin planning Jules' party in January (right after getting over the holidays), have her party in March. Take a breather, and start planning Griff's party in late June to July, and have his party in September. I joke around and say that IF I had #3, it would just be too ideal to have him/her in June...so then their parties would be every three months! If I have a third, I'm not going to try to arrange a June birth, but I'm just saying it would be convenient:)

So now that I've disclosed my love of planning parties, I just wonder at what point parties go from fun to extreme! What's an ideal birthday party budget? Just this week I've started throwing around party theme ideas for Griff's 2nd birthday. At one point, for just a second, I seriously considered a train theme. Why? Because I found a place that would rent me both a train shaped moon walk and slide, plus an actual little train that would ride the kids around! Patrick immediately informed me that I could not have both. I guess I see his point. To rent both was going to run us about $550, and then there would be food and decoration costs! It really adds up. So now that this plan is out, I've got a few, less expensive ideas, forming in my head. No doubt when I finish typing this post, I'll start researching online, once again, for Griff's party.

The funny thing is that before we had kids, Patrick and I had both swore off throwing parties every single year. We thought it was ridiculous and a waste of money. Sure have a party celebrating the milestones - 1st, 5th, 13th, 16th...but that's it. Obviously, now that I have kids of my own, I've changed my mind. I now say that ridiculously fun parties should happen. Every. Single. Year. Your kids are only young once, and their birthday only happens once a year...so go nuts. Maybe not too terribly, I charged the whole party on my credit card, nuts, but you get my drift!

more veggies please

Look what I found at Kohl's today! And for only $5! It was up near the registers - you know, where they usually have the $5 stuffed animals and books for sale! I did a double take when I saw it. I never dreamed it would be so cheap, but sure enough it is a part of Kohl's Cares for kids, "where 100% of the net profits are donated to support health and education opportunities for children nationwide" (quote taken from Kohl's website).

I've heard about this book many times. I actually saw Jessica Seinfeld on Oprah when she was first promoting her cookbook. In case you are unaware, what makes her cookbook unique is that each recipe has vegetables hidden inside it. Jessica even shares dessert recipes in this book.

To be honest, before today, I had never seen this cookbook in a store...not that I ever set out to look for it. Anyway, when I saw it (and saw the price) I knew it was going home with me.

I'm going to make these kids of mine eat veggies one way or another:)