Lists!

I am a list maker.

I make lists for everything.

I have always been this way.

When I was in school, I was constantly making lists of this or that.

I make shopping lists
Cleaning lists
Birthday lists
Errands to do
ETC.....

Well this week, I got out my Notebook, you know that book I use to help organize my home and my mind...LOL. I know a lot of you have one too. I have had a Notebook for as long as I can remember, but FlyLady helped me too with it. I still get Fly Lady emails, I don't read all of them, but I can see the title of them and a little motivation gets kick started. There are also some blogs, that I read, that can really motivate me on certain days I need a little push.

So, back to my lists.
This week, like I do every week, I make a shopping list and a cleaning list. I have a list on my fridge, and when I use something up, I put it on the list and then on shopping day I take that and a piece of paper and make my master shopping list.

My cleaning list, WoW! I made a huge list, bigger then I usually do, and I have done so much. My girlfriend was here, so she watched Kevin, while I was able to go out and wash my car inside and out. It looks nice. She helped me with my laundry.....and while I was cleaning out under my bed, my friend made my Microwave sparkle:)

I like lists, they help me keep focused. I also love my Notebook, I have a lot of inspirational and motivational printouts that I have in there, to read. It is also nice to have a best friend, who really likes to help me. She has been my best friend since I was about 17, I am 39 now...so it is a friendship that has been in my whole adult life.

It is Friday, and it is chilly. I am so thrilled the weekend is here, I hope my husband doesn't have to work tomorrow. Dinner is going to be something with ground beef. Last night I made pot roast in the crockpot with onion soup, oh it was like butter after cooking all day. Needless to say, I had no leftovers...LOL. I have a few more things left on my list that I want to finish. Happy Friday!

Jesus's Birthday Cake

For Christmas, Alexis made Jesus's Birthday cake:) She did such a nice job!

On a side note, at school one of her spelling words was *PRAISE*. She had to put it in a sentence, she wrote: I praise Jesus, Mary and God:) I was so proud!

Saturday!

I mentioned before, I have a bunch of pictures to share from Christmas til now, so in each post I will try and add pictures. I posted my Sweet Treat's picture below this post and then rainy days under that one. It is not rainy today but it is quite chilly. It is only supposed to be 58 degrees today.

At the Albertson's I got a $20.00 dollar pork roast for $8.00. I made it last night and it came out so nice. Today I am going to pull out my crock pot and make pulled pork for tonight's dinner. Ralph's grocery store sent out an amazing coupon this week, that I could not pass up. They were giving away for free, a jar of Mayo, eggs, orange juice and bread. There were no strings attached either. They also gave me a coupon for 10.00 off my purchase of 25.00 dollars or more. They had hams on sale too. I got a 30.00 dollar ham for 7.00 dollars, can you believe that? My total bill came to $64.00~~~and then after the coupons and the sale prices taken off, I just had to pay $24.00 for all those groceries. It made this wife and mother very happy...LOL.

This is Alexis riding her new bike, she got for Christmas!

I made these nachos for dinner one night last week. One of my husband's favorite!
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Today, my husband had to go to work, and it is quite cold outside, so I am going to stay in and play with my baby and take care of my home. I know Alexis will go next door and play with the little girls, and my son with play guitar with his friends, he is really good. So, all in all it will be a nice day. Oh, and do I need to mention, I am also doing laundry....LOL.
Happy Saturday!

Sweet Treats!

Mari had shared this recipe last Christmas for Sweet Treats, and I made them for Christmas and now I made them for Valentine's:) Aren't they cute? This such a fun and easy recipe, I think I have posted about it four or five times...LOL. For St. Patrick's you could do all green, the 4th of July, red, white and Blue.

Rainy Days

The brown trash can is the one that fell over and I had to chase the trash everywhere, the wind was blowing hard, so everything was getting scattered.

Stuffed Mushroom Recipe revisited...and a little more

Jen, a dear blogging friend asked me to post this recipe for the stuffed mushrooms. I looked in the archives and found it:

Simple Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe:
Pop off stems and grind in food processor, I have a mini one so it is perfect.
Then add two green onions in processor and grind up those.
Melt about 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan and saute ground up mushroom and onion--add a few dashes of Worshtershire sauce, break up a piece off bread into it and add some cheddar cheese, when it is all melted and heated through, then just stuff the buttons. When ready for the oven, drizzle some butter over the mushrooms and sprinkle some more cheese. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, then under the broiler for a minute--YUMMY!!!!!!

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I wrote that recipe back in 2006 and it never fails, it is a family favorite, especially by my husband. It is funny since I wrote this recipe, my husband had bought me a big food processor, and I really no longer use the mini one anymore. I just love my Cuisinart.

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On another note, I have been snapping pictures and I really need to get them on here. I took a bunch of the rain coming down hard. There was a river going down my street yesterday. The water knocked over my recyclable trash can, so in the pouring rain I am chasing cans and trash down the road. I got soaked and was freezing. I came in and got in some warm jammies, and I told my husband when he got home, I said, I promise I was dressed today...LOL. Oh, it must have been a sight watching me chase after things in the pouring rain.
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We had hot sauce chicken last night, which is basically Chicken basted with Franks Hot Sauce. Oh, it is good. Well, my husband had a big lunch that day, so he did not eat as much as I thought he would, and my daughter went out to dinner with my neighbors. So, I have bunches of chicken left. I am thinking of making a Hot sauce casserole:)

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I got a lot done yesterday, and since it is pounding rain and the news says it will all day and into tomorrow, I will do a lot more things around the house. I just love rainy days, it is dark and very cozy in the house. The kids are cuddled up on the couch right now watching cartoons . Alexis woke up with a cough, so I am keeping her home. I don't want to send her to school in this very cold and rainy weather, when she is fighting a cold today.

Have a wonderful Thursday, and stay warm and dry:)

Wednesday:)

Wow, I can not believe there was a tornado warning yesterday here in San Clemente. It said to take cover in your basement, I would like to know who has a basement in Southern California?? Anyway, it is still wet and cold and is supposed to rain all day and into the weekend. I love the rain and boy did I get soaked going to the grocery store. I can do with out the tornado warnings though, those are scary to say the least.

Today is my cleaning day and I am also doing some laundry since I did not do it on Monday, I enjoyed the Holiday and my kids home.

I have my bread maker going, washing machine going and I am sorting out the pile of papers that have been collecting on my kitchen counter.

Dinner tonight is going to be hot sauce chicken, yummy! Stay warm everyone:)

Saturday!

Today is Saturday, and I am so excited. Kevin got one of those really big dumpsters delivered to our home yesterday and we are going to clean out the garage and get rid of everything that is just junk! Oh, I can't wait to have a nice garage. I am always mortified when we have to open up the garage. Yes, it is that bad. It just became a catch all room, and it has really gotten out of control. We have a three day weekend, so that will be nice. It is also supposed to rain all week, so I got a tarp to put over the dumpster. I just love the rain.

I have been on Facebook, and really enjoy reading everyone's updates. It is sometimes easier for me to do a quick update then to make a blog post. I love my blog though, and hopefully I will be able to have more time to devote to it. I love looking at old posts from the beginning, such memories. Anyway, now you all know what I will be doing this weekend, what are your plans? Also, a few of you that read here are also on my Facebook, if any body else that reads here would like to be friends, let me know, I think it would be fun! Have a blessed Saturday:)

P.S. Dinner will be something with ground beef:)

Thursday!

Today is baking day:) I have homemade bread rising at the moment. We are having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner with a salad. I also just finished making stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer. It has been rather warm these past few days around 75 degrees. You never know how to dress in this weather. Everything has been going well here, we are all just so happily busy.

I watched a movie called *The Boy in the Striped Pajamas* Oh, did that make me cry. Have any of you seen that movie?

I also cleaned my teenagers room thoroughly, it looks so nice. He knows I do this, and he doesn't mind. I do it twice a year, kind of like spring cleaning. The other times it is up to him to keep it clean. Just like a lot of teenagers he is not very neat. I went through messy stages and neat stages myself. I am so hoping the neat stage hits him soon...LOL.

I have to go check on my bread, you all have a wonderful Thursday. I have received a few emails from some of you, and I will get to them today:) xo

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Jesus!!
Thank you!

Easy Fudge Recipe:)

Fudge Recipe:

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 can (14 oz.)Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
LINE 8- or 9-inch square baking pan with foil.
COMBINE morsels and sweetened condensed milk in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Warm over lowest possible heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla extract.
SPREAD evenly into prepared baking pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into pieces.

It can't get any easier then that...LOL...ENJOY!!!

Happy, Happy Friday!!

Last year I met a very neat lady, finding this recipe on her Recipe Blog~~Her name is Mari and she makes such wonderful things. This was one of the Sweet Treats I made last year, and I made a new batch yesterday. You will find her recipe here
I also made my easy fudge

Rice Krsipy Treats.
At Christmas time I will make a birthday cake for Jesus



My little helper




Decorations


Poinsettia

...and all our stockings are hung:)

After today, Alexis will be off of school for two whole weeks, I am just thrilled about that!
Kevin and I will be doing some Christmas shopping this weekend, that should be a lot of fun. I think my husband likes to shop more then me...LOL.
Tonight's dinner is going to be take out, because I have to wait for the gardener today and I can't get to the store, so my husband said don't worry about dinner, we will get take out. He wanted to go out to dinner, but Friday nights are just to busy to go out and eat, I don't like big crowds.
So all this week before Christmas, I will be working on making my house neat and tidy for Jesus's birthday celebration. I am so excited:)

Happy Friday and stay warm!

Pictures:)

Friday!

I would love to move my computer down stairs, so I could post more. The problem is there is really no where to put it down there.

We are getting our Christmas tree this weekend, I am so excited. We are getting a real tree this year, YAY! I also need to get more lights. Every strand I had would not work, I could not believe it.

Life is good here, our life is peaceful and that is the way I like it.

It is raining today, and it is cold. Dinner will be either spaghetti and meatballs or hamburgers and french fries. I have to start my baking, I want to make some Christmas cookies.

Have a wonderful day and stay warm:)

*Whew*

After Thanksgiving, this house got out of control. I have laundry to do, bathrooms to clean. I have been working all morning. I have a trash bag and I am running around the house picking up this and that and throwing it all away. Kind of like Fly Lady's 27 things. Oh, I also hung up a bunch of clothes that were on my bedroom chair. Why, oh do I let things get out of hand...LOL.

I have to go to the market today and get the food for the week, I will do that before I pick Alexis up from school.

It is quite chilly today. I need to put a sweater on. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, we sure did. I used every bit of that Turkey up. The last thing I made with it was turkey and dumplings, using the carcass for the stock, it turned out good. Today, I am not sure what I will make for dinner, it will depend on what I find at the store:) Happy Tuesday!

Happy ThanksGiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving:) Have a wonderful day everyone!!

Thanksgiving Dinner

This is what is on the Menu for Thanksgiving:

Turkey
Homemade gravy
White bread stuffing
Green bean Casserole<--(My favorite)
Mashed potatoes

Sweet potatoes

Cranberries
Turnip Greens

Macaroni and cheese
Salad
My homemade dinner Rolls

Relish tray
Cheese tray
Veggie tray
Stuffed mushrooms

Friday!!!

I am so thrilled it is Friday. This means the start of Thanksgiving break for the kids. No school for an entire week--YaY!!! I bought my turkey last week, now I just need to plan the rest of my menu. My turkey is 16 pounds and I paid 9.00 for it at Albertson's. Also, my laundry is almost done too. I have been trying to keep on top of it, so it doesn't become overwhelming. The weather has been nice, cold in the morning and warming up during the day. Our consolidated debt is now over, Kevin and I are thrilled. It has been a long five years paying that off. Now it is over! Kevin is now talking about having another baby. I told him I would like to try after the Holidays, so we shall see. I am still a little fear full, even though it has been awhile since I miscarried, I still think about it.

Dinner is going to be simple and kid friendly because Kevin will miss dinner tonight. Not sure yet, but I am thinking soup and grilled sandwiches.

Well, I have to take make Alexis's lunch and then take Tony to the eye doctor. Have a great Friday!

Happy Wednesday

There is no school today--YAY!!! My girlfriend who has a daughter the same age as mine, is taking the girls to see a A Christmas Carol and then to the salon to get pedicures. This should be a great day for Alexis.

As for me, since I don't have to go anyway today, I am going to do some laundry, clean the home and I have a few bananas that are turning brown, so I am going to make banana bread.

I am so excited for ThanksGiving, I just adore that Holiday, all the holiday cooking and baking and spending time with the people you love, friends and family. I can't wait!!!

Today is Veteran's day, I always say a prayer for everyone that is/was protecting our country. May God Bless everyone!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday!

Not sure what is on the menu for tonight's dinner, but I do know it will be something with ground beef.

Happy November!

I can not believe October is over and November is here, that month just flew by! My neighbors little girl was sick this week, so she stayed here with me, while her mother went to work. It has been a busy, yet fun week.

It has started to get very chilly in the mornings and warming up a bit in the afternoon. With the time change, it gets dark so early--I LOVE IT!

Tonight on the menu is roasted chicken. I made a pork roast last night, which turned out really good. I sometimes cook it too long and it comes out dry, but this time, it came out juicy.

What are your thoughts on the H1N1 vaccination? Let me know.

I am going to bake a cake today, just because:) Have a super Thursday!!