Monday, June 4, 2012
First day
Thursday, April 12, 2012
The warm sun
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
CSA week one
A couple of months ago, we joined a CSA with two of our neighbors. I knew it would be an adventure, but figured it was worth a shot. This past Saturday, we got our first share of food. We got green romaine, red romaine, butter crunch lettuce, kale, chard, mustard greens, turnip with greens, parsley, cilantro and green onions. Talk about a lot of food! I'm so glad that this is being split three ways.
Saturday I washed all of the vegetables and set them out to dry before putting them in the fridge. I don't eat a lot of green foods, so I was sort of at a loss for what to do with everything. Saturday night I used the green onion and parsley (chopped) and made oven roasted potatoes. They were amazing!
Sunday I got a little more ambitious and made kale chips. They have a strong aftertaste in my opinion, but the sea salt gives them a great flavor. Sean and the kids are not big fans, but I eat one or two and then walk by and eat another. I just can't stop. Strange! Last night I made a fabulous salad for Sean and Sebastian. Seb ate two bowls of it. Crazy boy!
Saturday I washed all of the vegetables and set them out to dry before putting them in the fridge. I don't eat a lot of green foods, so I was sort of at a loss for what to do with everything. Saturday night I used the green onion and parsley (chopped) and made oven roasted potatoes. They were amazing!
Sunday I got a little more ambitious and made kale chips. They have a strong aftertaste in my opinion, but the sea salt gives them a great flavor. Sean and the kids are not big fans, but I eat one or two and then walk by and eat another. I just can't stop. Strange! Last night I made a fabulous salad for Sean and Sebastian. Seb ate two bowls of it. Crazy boy!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
One Little Word
Each year Ali Edwards chooses one little word to focus on during the year. I've chosen a word the past couple of years, but have never done the class through Big Picture Scrapbook. I still haven't decided if I'm going to do it this year, but I have decided on my word for 2011.
Rejuvenate - to make young again or restore to a former state.
I can think of many ways to apply it to my household, my faith, my exercise regime, my scrapbooking, etc. I think it's going to be the perfect word for 2012.
Friday, August 5, 2011
The Day the Microwave Died and other stories
Honestly, it shouldn't have been a big shock that the microwave died. For the past 3 months, we were having to use a butter knife to get the door to open. Sometimes it would keep running, even though the timer was turned off. However, I think it's always a shock when something stops working. At least it seems to be for us. So on Sunday, the microwave stopped working. Of course, it's over the oven so not just an easy fix to go buy another. Mom was kind enough to loan us one until we figured out what to do.
That of course, is always the big question. What to do - and we've had a lot of that this summer.
At the start of the season our upstairs AC unit went out. $7000 and 48 hours later we had a new one installed. It works really well and this month's electric bill was $150 less than normal, but it still wasn't something that we had budgeted for. This was supposed to be the summer that we bought a new (to us) mini-van. Having the 3 kids squeezed in the back like sardines was starting to be a pain for everyone involved. (Especially since Seb gets a little physical with his sisters at times.) We set aside a good size down payment and I had the exact amount in my head that would work with the extra $250 that would start coming in my paycheck in July. After much discussion, we used the bonus money that was in savings for part of the AC and the rest on a one year interest free CC. I could still get my car in late June and things would be fine.
Until...... the next week, when Sean's company announced that they were moving his department to Washington, D.C. and he was able to move with them or find another job. After lots of prayers and discussion, we decided this was not what we wanted to do. So - he had until Sept 15th to find another job. The car was put on hold again - since we might need to live on that down payment money.
Vacation plans were altered and we continued to have faith that the right thing would come along. I had my car inspection done and of course my car needed 2 new tires to pass. (Although the other two tires would need to be replaced soon too.) That taken care of, it's now street legal and I'm driving it.
Sean had several networking meetings and interviews during July that were very beneficial.
We (MOM) rented a van for the vacation and away we went.
Had a fabulous time........got home to find out something in the gear shift of Sean's car was broken and it wouldn't move out of park. We had it towed to our car repair shop and $500+ later the plastic parts were fixed and it was driving again. (We have found out that the Chrysler 300s have a problem with this. GRR!)
Now - 2 weeks later it's the microwave that's gone out. Question - What to do?
Answers don't always show up right away and given our string of issues this summer, prayer and caution should be taken with every step. We decided to see what this week would bring and go from there. Thankfully, this week brought 2 job offers. As of this afternoon, Sean has given his 2 week notice and signed paperwork with a new company. This new job comes with the title that he wanted and a higher salary, so now I will start looking for a new microwave. :) The car will wait a few months so that we can save up what we've spent on repairs this summer, but even that will come before the end of the year. We've only got one more week of summer, and then they walk to school each day, so a few more months won't hurt us anyway.
That of course, is always the big question. What to do - and we've had a lot of that this summer.
At the start of the season our upstairs AC unit went out. $7000 and 48 hours later we had a new one installed. It works really well and this month's electric bill was $150 less than normal, but it still wasn't something that we had budgeted for. This was supposed to be the summer that we bought a new (to us) mini-van. Having the 3 kids squeezed in the back like sardines was starting to be a pain for everyone involved. (Especially since Seb gets a little physical with his sisters at times.) We set aside a good size down payment and I had the exact amount in my head that would work with the extra $250 that would start coming in my paycheck in July. After much discussion, we used the bonus money that was in savings for part of the AC and the rest on a one year interest free CC. I could still get my car in late June and things would be fine.
Until...... the next week, when Sean's company announced that they were moving his department to Washington, D.C. and he was able to move with them or find another job. After lots of prayers and discussion, we decided this was not what we wanted to do. So - he had until Sept 15th to find another job. The car was put on hold again - since we might need to live on that down payment money.
Vacation plans were altered and we continued to have faith that the right thing would come along. I had my car inspection done and of course my car needed 2 new tires to pass. (Although the other two tires would need to be replaced soon too.) That taken care of, it's now street legal and I'm driving it.
Sean had several networking meetings and interviews during July that were very beneficial.
We (MOM) rented a van for the vacation and away we went.
Had a fabulous time........got home to find out something in the gear shift of Sean's car was broken and it wouldn't move out of park. We had it towed to our car repair shop and $500+ later the plastic parts were fixed and it was driving again. (We have found out that the Chrysler 300s have a problem with this. GRR!)
Now - 2 weeks later it's the microwave that's gone out. Question - What to do?
Answers don't always show up right away and given our string of issues this summer, prayer and caution should be taken with every step. We decided to see what this week would bring and go from there. Thankfully, this week brought 2 job offers. As of this afternoon, Sean has given his 2 week notice and signed paperwork with a new company. This new job comes with the title that he wanted and a higher salary, so now I will start looking for a new microwave. :) The car will wait a few months so that we can save up what we've spent on repairs this summer, but even that will come before the end of the year. We've only got one more week of summer, and then they walk to school each day, so a few more months won't hurt us anyway.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Seriously though
I thought I'd do a little up keep on the blog today while the girls were playing with a friend and Seb was taking a nap. Try more like a LOT of up keep. I've now posted all of the drafts that I've written over the summer and have a new color scheme. (Just in time to start the countdown to football season!)
We've got just under two more weeks of summer and things are picking up around here.
Shelby has found a new dance studio (much closer to the house) and is doing a week of intensive training to prepare for competition team. She's doing 3 hours every day this week and is sleeping very well at night. :)
Syd and Seb are going to get a surprise tomorrow, when I head over to the bounce place for some energy using fun time while Shelby is in dance. It's SOOOO hot outside, I thought they'd enjoy something a little different. AKA - mom wants them to use up some energy!
We've got just under two more weeks of summer and things are picking up around here.
Shelby has found a new dance studio (much closer to the house) and is doing a week of intensive training to prepare for competition team. She's doing 3 hours every day this week and is sleeping very well at night. :)
Syd and Seb are going to get a surprise tomorrow, when I head over to the bounce place for some energy using fun time while Shelby is in dance. It's SOOOO hot outside, I thought they'd enjoy something a little different. AKA - mom wants them to use up some energy!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
More Vacation photos
Had a great time, but SO glad to be home. Here are some other shots from our trip. Including our almost 3 mile hike that we took with the kids. Seb was great going up, but slept in someone's arms coming down.
All of the youngest generation (plus Melissa)
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