Hookie

So yesterday my hubby decided to keep 9 and 6 home from school so we could have a family day. We decided to take the ferry from Seattle over to Bainbridge to check out the area and see what we could find! Had lunch at a grocery store that has a massive salad bar where you can load up and pay $7.99 a pound for the traditional salad fixings. They also had soup bar which I helped myself to since I loves me some soup. Then we let the boys play at the local park close by then headed our way to Poulsbo! Had so much fun there and they had a YUMMY bakery called Sluy's where 6 got his massive donut! We walked around window shopping ~ and secretly I was hoping to find a Goodwill to do some shopping of my own, but with no luck! It was a great day, but my hubby was feeling the coming ons of a terrible cold, which is in full swing today. Even feeling as bad as he does right now he's at the store picking up some groceries so I can make some sausage and potato soup for him. What an awesome mountain man I have!

Shopping, Sharing, & Eating

My Saturday was WONDERFUL! I was able to spend a good part of my afternoon with my Bestie doing my three fav things! You got it ~ shopping, sharing and EATING! YES! Was so wonderful to get away from 9 and 6 and have a breather to recharge myself! Bestie and I met up in Gig Harbor, a half way point between our worlds. We started out at the local Goodwill where I found two cute pairs of comfy cargos ~ The black pair are a little snug, but were half off and might give me the motivation to tone that tummy! Still no luck with any white home accessories. Bestie picked up two cute purses, one for herself, the other for her sweet daughter. Then we had an amazing lunch at Blazing Onion! I had died and gone to burger heaven! It must have been the best hamburger I had ever eaten in my 37 years! The food was yummy, the service was great, and we walked out of there with satisfied tummys! Yay us! The burger joint was located in a really cute shopping center that we were able to walk around and get our fill of window shopping. We stopped in a cute shop called Heart and they were having their Annual Sale and I got this cute little jacket for $15. When I got home and showed hubby I noticed that the back of the tag said $168! Holy Cow! What a steal, but to be quite honest ~ not worth $168 and that's probably why it was marked down, DoWn, DOWN! Bestie picked up a cute purple hoodie for $15 too ~ I'll have to ask her what her tag read.... But my best score of the day would have to be the charm necklace Bestie made me for Christmas! I LOVE it so and wore it all day! I love the 50's pic's especially the lady carrying the grocery bags expression! If you likey too check out my previous post "Gotta Show the Love" to her Etsy shop! It was such a fabulous day and didn't want it to end, but had to get back to my men! And back I did with a HUGE smile on my face ~ kinda like 50's gal.... Hee, hee!

Shade Clothing

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Work in Progress

Yesterday was a BEAUTIFUL sunny day in Auburn so we took the opportunity because of the weather and also the holiday to make it over to the storage unit to bring over our first two loads of boxes. 9 and 6 were SO excited to get some of our things over to the cabin, and were especially excited to have found a couple boxes marked "Toys" ~ it was as if it was Christmas morning all over again! So this morning after my post I will start to unpack and go through some of the boxes in hopes to "Simplify" things for the present and the future. Wish me luck!

Also, I need some input on how to lighten up some of my furniture. Our bookcase also has a buffet/hutch that is matching and I am thinking of repainting to lighten our decor because of the darkness inside the cabin. Any suggestions of what to do or any websites that you have visited that might help me? I have decided to start collecting some white accessories too in hopes of brighting up things! Did you see my Acorns and Pumpkin from my previous post? I love them and got them marked down as well as an additional 40% off at Freddy's! I hope to make it over to Goodwill and take a look at what white treasures they may have!

Stuffed Green Peppers

4 - Medium Green Peppers
1/2 - 1 lbs Ground Beef
2-2 1/2 - Cooked white or brown rice
1/4 - Cup Chopped Onion
6 oz - Whole canned corn ~ drained
1/2 - tsp Worcestershire Sauce
4 oz -Tomato Sauce
1/2 - tsp Salt
3 1/2 oz - Grated Cheddar Cheese

Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds and membranes. Precook in boiling salted water for 5 minutes; remove and drain well. Sprinkle insides with salt. Brown meat and onion; add rest of ingredients except cheese. Simmer until hot. Add cheese and stir until melted.
Stand peppers in baking dish and fill with mixture. Add 1/2 inch water to baking dish. Bake 40 minutes @ 350.


Another one of my Mom's recipes that I loved growing up. Still yummy good, but needed a little more spice to me. Thinking about changing the recipe next week and making Stuffed Green Peppers with pizza filling ~ like Pepperoni, Black olives, pizza sauce... you get what I'm saying! So many ways to change this up a bit, and tons of more recipes for this on~line!

Hooray!

So last night kicked off getting our home organized! Went made a trip down to the local Ikea to look for some storage furniture for our boys 9 and 6. Now part of the problem here with the clutter and piles is that our furniture has not been move here from our local storage facility. If you remember our furniture finally arrived from California mid December ~ so with the holidays and weather conditions (you know ~ RAIN all... the... time....) we decided to hold off on bringing everything over. So not to make excuses for my mess, but I really have no where to put the clean laundry when it is done. We also lost a dresser when we moved since in our old home we had a Closet Maid System, and now my hubby and I will have to use the large dresser that was once ours, but we had given to the boys, and so it's our again, once it's out of storage of course! So my hubby found these cute little storage units that can be used as a small dresser with the totes as well as a bookcase. So 9 and 6 will each have their own and my hubby has also decided to get the boys a new bunk bed which 9 is SO excited for since they are currently sharing a bed and 6 keeps pushing him to the very edge. I picked up two of the cute hampers so that the boys can sort their own laundry by placing lights in one and darks in the other. We'll see how that will actually turn out in the end.... So after my hubby comes back this afternoon from a meeting (he's interviewing for another position at his job as a supervisor ~ which will be HUGE for our family if it happens ~ so please pray for him) we are going to head back to Ikea to get the goodies and start cleaning up this place of clutter! Hooray! Yippee! Woo hoo!

Changes Are a Coming

So since it's the beginning of a new year I have finally decided to really try and make some changes here at home since I have plenty of time on my hands. I want to try and become more organized and to purge some of the things that I really don't need or use too often. Now I wouldn't say that I'm a complete slob, but do like to make little piles around the house ~ piles of paper, piles of laundry. You get my meaning ~ hence the picture. Everything will have it's place and that's where it will be put from now on. Less clutter will make my hubby extremely happy and myself as well since our rental is quite a bit smaller than we are accustomed to. Once our stuff is brought over from storage ~ yes I said storage ~ I am going to take the time to go through every box, and pull out those items that I really just don't need. Thus making less stuff to move when our lease is up ~ so at least I have about ten months to get this done! Lol! Good lord I hope it doesn't take me that long! Also last night I made a list of chores that my 9 year old and 6 year old will be doing nightly and weekly. I want to teach them some responsibility, and also appreciation for what I do daily around our home. Now the organizing is something I've always wanted to do, but recently I have really been feeling the urge, first because of our fresh new start and wanting to kick some of my bad habits, and secondly I have been watching a show called Hoarders on A & E. It is frightening to watch but also fascinates me to no end. It's like a train wreck that you cannot turn away from no matter how hard you try, and honestly as bad as it sounds, it actually makes me feel a little better about my housekeeping. How sad is that! These people have a horrible disability and it makes me feel better about myself!!! I am SO ashamed! So this will be I guess one of my New Years Resolutions ~ Get Organized! I think it will set a tone for my boys to follow and hopefully they will start picking up after themselves WITHOUT being asked. Yeah I know ~ will never happen!

Chili Soup

My Mom made this a lot when I was growing p and I just LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it! I hope you'll enjoy it too!

1 1/2 - 2 lbs Ground Beef
2 c Chopped Onion
12 oz Tomato Paste
2- 15 oz cans Stewed Tomatoes
3 c Water
4- 15 oz cans Kidney or Pinto Beans
2 Garlic Cloves crushed
1 T Chili Powder
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Cumin

Brown beef with onions in very large pot. Drain excess fat. Stir in tomato paste and stewed tomatoes. Break up tomatoes. Add water, beans, garlic, chili powder, salt and cumin. Mix well, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve with corn bread or biscuit's. You can also garnish the chili with, shredded cheese, sour cream, or chopped green onions. Use left over chili for chili baked potatoes the next night!

Gotta Show the Love

My Bestie has opened up her own Esty Shop! Check it out at http://www.etsy.com/shop/Weebird44. She is SO creative and I cannot wait to see all the marvelous things she will be posting! Maybe this will get my creative juices flowing too! It's been a long time and I sure have enough time on my hands now! So cheers to you my friend!

Happy New Year!

I hope that your holidays were magical and you were surrounded by family and friends! May your New Year be filled with love, happiness, health, and many blessings!