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Stir and Season Saturday


Stir and Season Saturday

This past week, I made a lot of my EASY meals...we had guests all week staying with us. I love when I can put on my crock pot in the morning and my house smells like "home" cooking all day. This is SO VERY EASY but it's yummy and quite filling!

Cheesy Crock Pot Chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken breast

salt and pepper to taste

garlic powder to taste

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

1 can of cheddar cheese soup

Rinse chicken and sprinkle with seasons. Mix soups and pour over chicken in crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours and serve over rice or noodles. Add a fresh green salad and hot rolls!

Yum!

Crockpot featured on Williams and Sonoma online

Somebody is Going To be One Year Older...

Well, I have been busy...BAKING AND WRAPPING.

Checking off my lists once then TWICE....

Tomorrow we are have a BIRTHDAY to celebrate....

Not Only are there cupcakes to ice...gifts to wrap...streamers to curl....m&m's to pour

WE ARE PACKING AN OVERNIGHT BAG, too! I am picking up our "BIRTHDAY" girl after school today and we are OFF for a SPLASHING, UNDERWATER, SLIPPING AND SLIDING BIRTHDAY adventure!

{I will take LOTS of pictures... I promise!}

The Good and The Bad about a "Snow Day"

snow
Starting at 4:53am...the calls started coming...transportation...local school closing....then our school recorded "call"---NO SCHOOL TODAY! Yes, we finally GOT SNOW!

Of course, the kids are thrilled....they get to stay in their pj's...PLAY...watch a bit of t.v.....PLAY some more. We have family in town from Michigan. My mom loves to play games..yahoo! She is our official "gameboard" player.

It is a more relaxed day even I am still in my pj bottoms. I have thought about trying to run out to Starbucks but it looks "nasty"out.

Snow days are fun...different than any other day! BUT, it's not good for blogging. I don't know about you but I can't leave comments when three pairs of eyes are peeking over my shoulders.

Can you?

Full Of "Spunk"





This "Fine" Tuesday, I am doing a post for the blog "I Love Faces". I have enjoyed so much seeing all the different pictures. Wow....there are some great photographers out there!

My youngest is full of "spunk" and many many expressions. She can make me laugh till tears come down my face and sometimes her "stubborn" attitutude makes my cry too! Here she is..playing in the snow. If that is what you call it! It's like maybe .5 inches if everything blows in one direction. But, they were glad to see some white "stuff"!

This is the type of picture that brings me to tears of frustration (hee hee)..she ALWAYS closes her eyes if the sun is anywhere in the sky! AHHHhhhhhhh! Silly ole' girl!

p.s. This week has been CRAZY.....I have a friend snowed in and a mother snowed in my house! But, I LOVE IT!!!

My Name Is Sandy Toes...I am addicted to Signs!

Well, you know when you move (yes, it's been 1 1/2 years)...you just want to get everything out of the box and somewhere. Well, I am now at that point going through closets and some drawers that have no rhyme or reason....the places where I took something out of the moving box and just put it there!
We have a mother-in-law suite and I was going through the closet/laundry room. It was then that I realized I need to go to "Signs Intervention ". I have signs that are big, small, signs with phrases and signs with one word. Signs that inspire...signs that just tell you where you are..like "Pantry", "Laundry Room" even one that says "You are here".









Here are a few that "foster" my addiction...this is not even counting the ones in the storage room. Or the ones with my kids names on them or initial or last name....my daughters room is full of signs with her "name" on it!


So this Spring...I am going to have a "SIGN GARAGE SALE"!




{geez, I guess I have to buy a garage sale sign.....}

What "Home Decor" are you addicted to???

Stir and Season Saturday



"Stir and Season" Saturday

Today, I am posting a recipe from a dear friend..."Vicki". This is a friend who cooks a "full course" meal for her 5yr. old and then at 10:00pm waits up for her husband to get home from work and cooks another FRESH, home cooked meal. She is an amazing cook and the "women" in her family cook for days! ! So I am sharing with you her mandarin orange cake..it's yummy and a true delight!

Mandarin orange Cake

1 box yellow cake mix (not the pudding one!)

11 oz mandarin oranges with juice

1/2 cup oil

4 eggs

Combine all the ingredients; mix on low for one minute and then medium for 2 minutes; pour into three 8 inch greased and floured cake pans (the cake really rise); Bake at 325 for 30 minutes.

icing

3 oz vanilla pudding (instant)

20 oz crush pineapple with juice

8 oz cool whip

Blend pudding and pineapple; Fold in cool whip (frig for 20 minutes); Spread b/t layers and then the rest of cooled cake; Refrigerate...take out 1/2 hr before serving. Enjoy!

My Favorite {Blog} Friday!

favorite

This is new "posting" theme for my little bLoG. Do you visit blogs and think...

"I wish that person would come and decorate my bedroom"

OR

"I wish that person would tell me the secret in entertaining without 'stress' "

OR

"I wish that blogger lived right down the street b/c we would have a blast together"

Well, a few times a month I am going to be featuring some of my FAVORITE "reads". The first "blog" I am featuring is a lady who I wish DID live down the street. She is witty, funny, true and her life just seems "fun"!

THE LONG ROAD TO CHINA

Maybe you know her as "Half Gaelic, Half Garlic".

She has a big "heart" and her love for her family shines in every POST.....

Her husbands COOKS, yes ladies, COOKS!!!

Her daughters "stove" is cuter than my real one...

She says she loves lots of cheese and pasta and every picture of her cooking makes me want to EMAIL her to see if she would "deliver" or overnight a dish....She has the cutest aprons and makes "cooking" and the "kitchen life" glamorous... all while sipping on a glass of wine...

Her kids are just adorable and their smiles melt my heart every time her blog pulls up on my computer....

I asked Lisa a few questions about that thing we call "BlOgGiNg"....

{What made you start a blog?}

Back in January of 2006 we were just starting to put together our paperwork to adopt a baby from China and were required to go to a couple of meetings with other families who were starting the adoption process. At the very first meeting we attended, I had met a girl that asked if I had ever seen or followed blogs of China Adoptive families. My answer was no, but it struck my curiousity, so when we got home I started doing some investigating and was instantly hooked!! I lurked in the shadows for a long time and never commented. As time went on, I kept telling myself that when we got our referral, I would start a blog of my own....after all, what did I have to talk about on a blog!!

In November of 2006, we were still waiting for our China adoption to come to fruition and we were presented with an incredible opportunity to adopt domestically. We were in the middle of building our new home and were not prepared at all for this new little bundle of you, but to he honest, the timing could not have been more perfect. We adopted Sarah, and then moved 2 months later. I really had my hands full juggling a career, our new home, and my two children. In the back of my mind, I knew that there were many opportunities that I should have been documenting, but just did not have time. I was still checking in on blogs, but never thought I could handle one on my own.

By April of 2008, Sarah was just over a year old and our extended family constantly asking for us to send updated photos of Sarah and Nick. Our family is spreadout amongst a half dozen states, so I thought there was no time like the present to bite the bullet and start my own blog. My sole purpose was to email the web address to our immediate family and close friends so they could check in and not feel like they were missing out on all the special moments and milestones in our lives. Little did I know, where this blog would lead me.

{How has the blog enhanced my life?}

In the beginning, I did just have family and friends checking in, they did not even know how to leave comments, or that they were even supposed to. Little by little, I started picking up readers and meeting other women and Mothers like myself who had similar interests and stories to tell. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have made the friendships that exist today.....all because I started to blog!!

I have had the opportunity to meet a couple of these amazing ladies in person and when we have met, it was like we were long lost friends.....they were just as wonderful in person as they are on their blogs.

Blogging has brought me into contact with people I would never have never met otherwise. Day after day, I turn on my computer and feel like I have my giant group of friends rallied around me and there to share the joys of my life as well as the hardships. We are there to support one another through whatever life hands us. In addition to the moral support, it has been a wonderful resource for decorating ideas, craft type projects for the kids, and recipes to try out on my family. My blog has become more than a place to showcase my childrens pictures, it is a huge part of me and an extension of my home. When new people visit, I like to welcome them with open arms and make them feel right at home.

Today, pop over and say "HeLLo" to Lisa! You will keep coming back for more!


p.s. I have NO idea why my font is so big..can't change it!