Tis the season for grilling!! My favorite time of year!

Perfect for my new journey to lose some weight!

 

 

 



Well well well... look who's back to the blogging world! Few things have kept me away, 1) camera took a shit back in Aug. of 2012.. yeah, the day of my grandson Chase's 1st birthday never the less! Figures, my luck can go like that sometimes. Life will do that to you, you just have to learn to roll with it I guess. :) So no camera, no blog. 2) Financially we've been strapped! Who isn't now days but by the grace of God things are really looking up for us! I'm not going to bore you with all that because that's not what I want my blog to be! I want it to be positive, informative and a pleasure to read. And I guess to give you a little glimpse into my wonderful, crazy, busy life. 3) I've had 3 more grandkids and one more on the way, so busy doesn't even to begin to explain it. LOL Total now is 7 going to be 8 by the end of the year! :D So.. recipes and crafts to come I promise. :) Spring is here and it couldn't of came any sooner! My depression that hits me like baseball bat every winter is/was pretty bad this last season. I've come to the conclusion that sooner or later I'll be moving to a warmer climate because of it. Happy Blogging and Happy Spring!

Wow! Not sure whats wrong with the post before this one, kinda messed up.

Busy summer :)

Summer .. it's my favorite time of the year! Really enjoying our little piece of the American Pie. Oh sure, life has it's ups and downs but what would life be without the bumps? Boring. Just wanted to take a moment to reflect on the good. Sometime we all get trapped in this nasty negative whirlwind of just plain BS! You have to know when to say enough is enough, life is too short, especially when your going on 43. Not saying that's old by far but hey it's not 25 either! 

I've learned a lot of lessons in my short 42 years and I know for a fact that I'm not done learning, I'm an information nut, you can ask Marc, always looking up something new on the internet. Here's a few of  the what I call "important lessons" in life: Make sure you always stop and notice the little things in life, like my little fire fly friend above. Just enjoying my beautiful garden with me one evening. It literally made my night. Always keep your family close. I believe God gives us these beautiful souls in which were made from for a reason, a purpose for just being. The least we can do is make the best of the great gift called life. No day is promised, don't ever forget that. Love: Never take love for granted, NEVER! It can be so powerful but so fragile all at the same time. Be kind to other human beings, one day your going to need that kindness from a someone, even when you don't know you need it. Find out who you are, what your believes are, what your heart tells you to be, never change who "you" are for no one. FYI- the finding yourself doesn't happen overnight if your wondering. It's all part of growing up and making mistakes. 

How to make a baby Blue Jean Rag Quilt

I'm totally in love with this quilt. Simple, easy.. just my style. I found this really cute green/blue print at Handcock fabrics that matches the blue jean perfect. Made this one for our grandson Scottie that's due in about 6 wks!! Plus we have 3 more coming by the end of December!! I better get sewing huh!!? LOL

 I used 4 in squares but you can use any size you want really. I wouldn't suggest anything smaller then 4 though. I got super lucky when I spoke with a friend that had at least over 100 blue jean squares already cut.. I know lucky me huh? :) So a cutting away I went. Had a bunch cut before I knew it!

First thing is first.. Take one blue jean square and one of the colored fabric squares, put them back to back. Line them up as best as you can, if it's off just a bit it won't matter. From corner to corner sew with your machine an "X". Do that to as many squares that you'll need. Mine was a 9x9 so that makes 81 squares to sew an X through. The bigger the squares the less you have to do. I thought about making the whole side blue jean but really liked mixing up all the different colors of jean and doing the checkered looked. I'll post the link to the video that helped me, explains it a little better then I can. :)

                                                   Sew together each square 1/2 inch in from edge.

                                            I sew all 9 rows then start sewing all the rows together.

 After you get it all sewed together throw it in the wash and dryer and make sure you change your lent trap after..wow never have I ever seen that much lent before. Posted the link below.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0UQgeol-Zk&list=PL7B6E9E01C9F37D74&index=8&feature=plpp_video 

                                                 Like I said, one of the easiest blankets I've done! Enjoy!

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

     As you can see I couldn't take the picture fast enough when I made this delisshh strata (Breakfast Casserole) on Mother's Day. Best thing about it is I made it the night before and it was super easy mind you! Plus my kids think I'm super Mom when I cook great food, triple points cooking on Mothers Day on top of it! LOL I know that's what I use to think about my mom when she cooked kick ass food.

Ingredients

• 12 slices day-old bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 12 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
•  
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 tablespoon butter
•                                                                              ~Directions~
  1. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the cream cheese, and top with remaining bread cubes.
  2. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and syrup. Pour over the bread cubes. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
  3. Remove the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  4. Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25 to 30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned.
  5. In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the remaining 1 cup blueberries. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, until the blueberries burst. Stir in the butter, and pour over the baked French toast

                                           This blueberry sauce was very easy to make also! Yummm
                        
                                                          You can't go wrong with this recipe!!

My famous Chicken Tacos

                                   My famous Chicken Tacos
                                                                                     8- skinless chicken breast
                                                                                            2TBSP olive oil
                                                                             1 pgk of flour tortillas, your choice.
                                                                                        3 pk. taco seasoning
                                                                  1 jar salsa your choice, I prefer Kramer's myself. 
                                                                          1 pk. shredded taco cheddar cheese 
                                                                                                2 c. lettuce 
                                                                                             1 c. fresh cilantro
 

Take 8 skinned chicken breast and place them in your crock pot, drizzle the olive oil over them. Season with a little salt and pepper and your choice of taco seasoning, hot or mild . Add enough water to just barely cover the chicken. Cook 3-4hrs on high or 5-6hrs on low or until tender and falls apart easily.

                                                                I clipped some fresh cilantro from my garden. The tortillas
                                                                     and the salsa are both local produces from my area.

                                                           The chicken after it's cooked down for about 3 and half hours.

                                                   Ahhh.. and a margarita! You have to have a margarita with these tacos.

                                                      Enjoy!