Dried Beans

In an attempt to save money and make life a little easier at dinner time, I have been buying bags of dried beans, cooking them, and freezing them.






We now have lots of beans and little freezer space! YEAH!


Side Note: Costco sells bulk bags of many staples. This Costco trip we bought a bulk bag of sugar. We only bought the medium size bag, just 25 lbs. That should last us at least 9 months to 1 year!

My Ride Home---Part 1

One day I decided to start taking pictures of the things I see on my ride home from work. Let me mention that my ride home is not on very heavily traveled roads. In fact, I never knew these roads existed until I looked them up on Google Maps.

Anyway, these are just a few of the random pictures a have taken over the last few weeks. I will continue to try to capture more interesting shots from my daily journey home.

Naturally, the school bus is a reoccurring site I see on my ride.

I guess even the most remote "gas stations" need beverages.

I almost wreaked my car when I saw this couple. How often do you see tandem bicyclists? I am not sure if they knew they were on a dangerous curvy hilly country road.

Got mail?

Buses are everywhere!

I thought this mail truck was so cute with its bright blue exterior.

Tiny Feet

Recently one of my closest friends delivered a happy smiling baby girl. My friend is naturally an excellent house wife, previously a superb educator, and now a wonderful mother.

This is her little one's tiny foot. I can't wait to be a mother with a little one!

Update: "Light Mail"

Will "it" ever come? I went out to check the mailbox today..."it" was not there! I am not sure how much longer I can wait.




I surmise that "it" will arrive in the next few days. Fortunately, I am not without entertainment. My dear sweet sister-in-law sent me the latest copy of Paula Deen's cooking magazine for Valentine's Day.

My Favorite "Hot" Drink

I am sure most people would agree that hot cocoa is a good drink to enjoy on a cold night.

However, my love for this "hot" drink is a little more serious than your average individual. I love hot cocoa. And let me make myself clear, I am not writing about that powdery mix in the paper package. I am writing about real, genuine, sugar, cocoa powder, milk, and lets not forget that dollop of homemade whip cream.




I love it anytime of day or night, all year long.

Please make yourself a cup of this hot cozy creamy drink mix next time you need a simple sweet chocolaty treat.


"Perfectly Chocolate" Hot Cocoa Microwave Single Serving:
The Hershey Company

2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. Hershey's Cocoa
Dash salt
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in large mug. 1. Heat milk in microwave at HIGH 1-1 1/2 minutes or until hot. 3. Gradually add milk to cocoa mixture; stir well. Stir in vanilla.



Homemade Whip Cream
by Rachel

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (very cold)
1 Tbsp. sugar

Using the whisk tool, Beat whipping cream in mixer on low speed until bubbles form. Turn speed to medium. When soft peaks begin to form, turn speed to high and add sugar. Continue to beat until firmer peaks form. Put a dollop on your Hot Cocoa and enjoy every wonderful drop.

Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Rolls
Down Home In High Style-Treasured recipes of the Wiregrass

1 package yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup milk,
2 tablespoons shortening
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
3 1/2 cups flour
Butter/brown sugar/cinnamon

Dissolve yeast in water. Let set. Mix other ingredients except flour. When cooled, add yeast and flour. Mix well. Let rise until double. Roll. Spread with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll and slice. Let rise until double. Bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes. Yields 2-3 dozen rolls.

Mrs. Ned Jenne (Jeanette)

(This process of rising and doubling will take several hours.)


Cream Cheese Frosting
Southern Living Cookbook

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 16oz package powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with mixer. Slowly add powdered sugar, beat at low speed until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.

(This is some of the best and easiest cream cheese frosting/icing I have ever tasted. It is also wonderful on cake or cupcakes.)

Podcasts

I just found these really interesting and educational podcasts. If you have an iPod, iPod nano, or iPod shuffle, you might want to download some of the casts. Otherwise, you can enjoy them through you PC. If you investigate these or other podcasts, let me know what you think.

Grammar Girls

This website has really fun tips and factual information on grammar.


The Princeton Review: Vocab Minute

This website has great vocabulary words for the day. The cast only last one minute and the information is formated into a fun nerdy song.

"Light" Mail

Anticipation!!!!!



For Christmas, my in-laws gave me a subscription to any magazine that Southern Living at Home published.

Naturally I choose Cooking Light. A: because I love to cook B: because I love the magazine C: because I knew I would regret it if I choose any other magazine subscription.




Everyday I come home from work with such great anticipation that "IT" is waiting in the mailbox for me. And everyday I am sadly disappointed. "IT," that silky, shiny freshly printed and bound stack of papers containing bits of knowledge that I can't wait to eat up, Is NOT there!

When will "IT" come?

The anticipation is consuming me...

A Sunday Afternoon Ride

It was a beautiful Sunday. I could not resist a short afternoon ride.

***

Saturday night we hosted a surprise 30^th birthday party at our house for Tay’s cousin. It was tons of fun. We squeezed over 35 people in our small 1950’s house. The party included: excellent finger food, birthday cake, karaoke, and Rock Band.

Colorful Napkins

I love decorative napkins. I just can't help myself. When I see that stack of colorfully designed paper in that clear wrapping, my fingers start itching and my brain screams, "Buy it, buy it, buy it!"




Besides loving napkins, I guess the other biggest attraction is the price. You can buy these delightful pleasures almost anywhere for almost any price. I love to search the clearance aisle at places like Target, Hobby Lobby, Micheal's, T.J. Max ...




I enjoy using these fun napkin and plate sets for my monthly girls night. I also use some of the napkins for our nightly dinners.

Finding pleasures in the simple things really does make for many happy moments.

Hopes for the Future

(Bedding from The Painted Cottage. Bedding purchased from Home Goods. )

One day in the near future, my husband and I pray to have children. Of course, I hope to have at least one girl and one boy (and many more).

Knowing this little fact in the back of my head, I suppose it is only natural to be thinking of the future as I shop.




Yesterday, I was browsing the clearance aisle and I saw this adorable bedding at Home Goods. At first, I thought it was really cute to be on clearance. I decided to take a peek at the price...when I saw the tag, I could not believe my eyes. SIXTEEN DOLLARS? Eleven dollars for a twin comforter and five dollars for a pillow sham! I could not resist the price.

Look how cute and girly, yet different, this bedding is.

I know it may sound silly to buy bedding for a future baby girl. Especially when #1) I am not pregnant #2) What if we never have a girl? These were my exact thoughts as I phoned my mom to get her opinion/get her to talk me in to buying it (I mean really it was only sixteen dollars, but if you read my post about the sunroom remix, you will remember how hard it is for me to spend money).

And it's reversable!

Once mom was on the phone, I told her my plan. Plan A) If we have a girl, I will use it for her baby bedding by draping the comforter over the rails, putting the pillow in the bed, and buying some additional sheets to match. As she grows older, she can use it with a real twin bed. Plan B) If we never have a girl, I will use the bedding in a guest bedroom or give it to someone as a present. There, it's settled. I'm buying it! And its going in the hope chest with the "few" other baby items that are all...hopes for the future!

Eraser Eradication

E...is for Eraser

As you all might know by now, if you have read my profile, I am an educator. I know what most of you who are moms or homeschool moms are thinking: "So am I."




So knowing that most of you are fellow educators, maybe you have experienced this little soap box that I'm about to get on and ride all the way to the drain.




I get so frustrated, no enraged, when I see elementary school children trying their hardest to complete their assignments using pencils without erasers.




I suppose children use their erasers much more quickly than they use the lead in their pencil, because they are still very much learning about "everything" and therefore, writing many incorrect answers and then needing to erase them. This process causes the children to be left with metal stubs. And guess what? They continue to try and use the stubs to erase their mistakes. The metal stub/non-eraser, in turn rips a big hole in their paper!




This is my favorite: Those pencils you find that look like they have been chewed on. Guess what? They have been chewed. But why, you might ask. I'll tell you why: in an attempt to squeeze out the reminder of the eraser that is left in the metal stub.

This is my plea to all other educators out there: Please, Please, Please, Please give these desperate children a chance. Give them an opportunity to write and erase with the proper tools. Please give them new pencils! I mean really, how much do pencils cost?

This is what a pencil should be: long, sharp and containing an eraser.

Stop the Eraser Insanity!

Sunroom Remix

This weekend I was inspired to give my very white sunroom a colorful makeover. I have known our sunroom would be my favorite room in our house since we moved in over six months ago. However at the time we did not have the proper seating for the room.

Our sunroom after to the remix.

Our sunroom prior to the remix.

Thankfully my husband's parents gave us the most adorable day sofa for Christmas. It is the perfect size for our sunroom (it came from World Market).

Before

After

Anyway, inspiration finally hit me over the weekend. My mom and I were out shopping Friday night and we saw a really cute foot stool/bench. My mom talked me into buying it. And I'm so glad she did. I am never very good at being impulsive, especially when it comes to spending money. So I called my husband to tell him I was thinking about being impulsive and he said, "Do it! Just do it!"

Before

After

I woke up Saturday morning and I was ready to find a few more decorative items to finish off the room. I went to several different stores in our city trying to find just the right combinations of green, white, pink, and yellow. I wanted at least one girly room in our house.




I found some great material at Hancock's Fabric.




Then, I enticed my mom to come to my house and sew two pillows for the day sofa and one for the small air chair.

This room has become what I always envisioned it to be, a beautiful girly retreat!

My mother threading the needle on the sewing machine.

My mom is great at sewing. This is one of her many skills that I hope to become better at one day in the near future.





I want to give a special thanks to my in-laws for giving us the day sofa, Michaels and Hancock's for putting so many items on sale, My husband for letting me spend the money to buy all of these items and allowing me to spend several hours working on the room remix, and finally to my mother for letting me use her as a slave to make these beautiful pillows and for letting me call her over 20 times in one day to ask her opinion on: floral patterns, pillow size, stripes, pottery, canvas size, the color of thread, the size of her big toe, the size of my big toe...any way you get the picture.

Thank you all so much!