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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

September.......

Well,I did it.....I scheduled my carpal tunnel release surgery for September 2---the day after my 10th wedding anniversary...I hope I made the right decision.....

Monday, July 25, 2011

RAIN RAIN RAIN!!!!!

It seems like the past week every day in the mornings and then again in the afternoon or evenings it's rained---ranging from an easy,gentle rain to a heavier thunder shower. I love it. It's kept the temps down somewhat and it's just refreshing to sit outside after a rain. Everything's greener and perkier. Now if it were just about 30 degrees cooler,that would be the ideal weather for me. I am so ready for the fall and winter this year. It can't come soon enough.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

DAR

DAR--Daughters of the American Revolution,that is. I've been researching our family history and putting a family tree together for about 3+ years now. I love history and I love researching family history,so it's been great fun for me. It can be a confusing headache sometimes-it's funny how many people have the same name-and named their kids the same names~! It can be frustrating trying to untangle each branch of the family tree--and I've run into plenty of brick walls where I can't find anything about that person except for family stories. And family stories don't always turn out to be the whole truth.Back to the DAR. I've found several ancestors that were involved in the American Revolution,but I've finally found a really close ancestor that I have a direct line to--my 4th great grandfather on my mother's side. I filled out an application for more information about the DAR a week or so ago. I wasn't expecting to hear anything so soon,but I got a phone call yesterday evening from a lady in the local chapter. She's invited me to their next meeting where I can really see what the DAR is all about and she can hopefully give me some tips to make my research a little easier. I have to gather birth certificates and marriage certificates of a few people in the family.If anyone in the family is already a member of the DAR it will make my paperwork that much easier.I'll just have to document how I am related to that other person. I am so excited!!!!!!! I want to get enough research and documentation to join other "groups" too,but am going to take it one step at a time. I know we have ancestors that came over on the Mayflower,but I don't know what type of documentation you have to have to join that group. Did I say I enjoy research!? Have you ever looked into your family tree and family history? You just might be surprised who and what you find!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

DO THIS

A fellow blogger is giving away a bra and panty set from Le Mystère-and since most of us gals are wearing the wrong bra size you might want to check it out-these bras are supposed to be the bomb...Enter and let me know if you win....good luck....

check out the PARK WIFE

Le Mystere bra/panty giveaway

Friday, July 15, 2011

surgery on my hands......

Well,I went to see the orthapedic surgeon today. He basicly said that if the hand splints aren't working for me,then surgery is the only other option. I have bilateral carpal tunnel-in both hands. Some days it hurts to drive,hold open a book,stir something I'm cooking in the kitchen. Earlier this year it was so bad that I would wake up and both hands/wrists would be throbbing and numb-I couldn't find any sleeping position where this didn't happen. It has eased up some,but it's still hard to find a comfy night time position for my hands. So I have to do some major thinking--figure out if I want to go through with it--figure out when is a good time to have it done--figure out if I want to do each hand separately or do them both at the same time. It's a 5minute "surgery",but my hands would be out of commission for a few days and I would have to ease back into my routine as far as "using my hands" goes. I'm just not sure what to do at the moment. Lucky for us,insurance will cover the procedure fully,so that's not really part of my problem.The husband says that if it'll help my hands stop hurting then I should do it. But it's not his hands they would be cutting on either.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Delicious Brownie Muffins

A while back,I saw this recipe made on the HUNGRY GIRL show on FOOD NETWOrk. It took me a while to find canned pumpkin because it's not anywhere CLOSE to being November yet! You girls have to try these muffins--they are delicious. I used a splenda cake mix and they turned out great-and I bet that any kind of chocolate cake mix would do. This is definately going to be a fave recipe in our house.

YUM YUM Brownie Muffins

Friday, July 8, 2011

Chicken Parm



Quick and easy chicken parm.......


For supper last night,I wanted to do something different. I have seen recipes in magazines where chicken parmesam is made using "spaghetti" as a base. I had plenty of chicken in freezer so lastnight was the night for my experiment. I cooked the spaghetti as normal and added in my sauce--I used a garlic/cheese sauce. I breaded pre-made organic chicken burgers and fried them in olive oil. I topped with carmelized onions and a handful of mozzerella cheese.

Quick-Easy Chicken Parm

spaghetti noodles
spaghetti sauce (or ragu sauce)
mozzarella cheese
carmelized sweet onions
organic chicken burgers (already seasoned)
sat/pepper to taste
italian bread crumbs
olive oil

Prepare spaghetti noodles as normal--add in the sauce--place in large casserole dish--dredge chicken burgers in bread crumbs and fry in olive oil until done-drain and place the burgers on top of the spaghetti--spoon a few carmelized onions onto each patty--top with mozzarella cheese and bake until cheese is bubbly and brown.

**I used pre-made organic pre-seasoned chicken patties but you can use your favorite chicken/turkey "burger patty"-or make from scratch.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Time for some GRILLIN' and CHILLIN'!!!! HAPPY 4TH of JULY!!!!



Hubby cooking on our new grill




Delicious grilled corn---wish I would have thought to use a prettier plate! lol






Time to eat--grilled steak,corn, and a huge potato.......DELISH!!!!


Banana-strawberry cream----soooo good!!!


Today,I was a little more liberal with the hubby and gave him free-range of the grill. I just warned him that he better turn it down lower than when he cooked the burgers (they were a little charred around the edges) and he better NOT burn my steak! I think I scared him LOL. My steak was perfectly rare-just how I like it! The pototatoes and corn were absolutely fabulous,too! I made another batch of banana ice cream and added in a handful of strawberries and about 1 cup of some frozen orange juice from some fresh oranges I had earlier this year. It was sooo good! I also made Zach some frozen sorbet using mango-pineapple juice and the last cup of the frozen juice that I had. It was good-Zach complained it wasn't sweet enough,but believe me,it was absolutely perfect! I told a sister that I was going to have to diet all of July and August to work off all the calories that I have comsumed this long weekend! And I have enjoyed every bite--even the charry burgers!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

What's on the menu?


Chris likes picking around with guitars and playing video games.


HE's SINGLE and can cook--quite a catch,ladies!!!



Don,Chris,Aaron---and THE GENERAL! (a few years ago)





A nephew has been telling us about the chicken he cooks on the grill using soda. It's originally called BEER CAN CHICKEN but neither he nor I drink,so he uses a soda and a special blend of spices he came up with. I have been telling him he has to come over and make this chicken specialty for us. He FINALLY came out today to help us christen the new grill. We made one beer can chicken and one soda can chicken. OMGOODNESS, can I say DELISH!!!! Both chickens were unbelieveably moist,tender and absolutely delicious. Along with the chickens,we grilled brats,chicken sausages,bell pepper,sweet onions,and hotdogs. Everything was sooo good. I'm so glad Chris came out today. We had fun. Zachary and TinkerBelle are both crazy over him. Tinkie goes nuts barking and jumping and trying to get his attention the minute he walks in the door. Zachary is usually all over him,too. Chris is really a nephew,but I grew up with him and he's more like a brother to me--Zach calls him his "uncle". Chris has 2 brothers,Aaron and Don. They are all wonderful young men. They don't drink or smoke--they love their parents and family like crazy and would do anything for them. And listen up,ladies,all 3 of them are SINGLE!!!

a little holiday cooking......


Chocolate/Vanilla holiday cake




KILLER Banana Ice Cream




I said I wasn't going to go all out for the holiday this year.We were going to grill out,but were not going to be cooking alot of food. But,grandpa bought hubby and me a new grill yesterday--a huge new grill!! And the hubby is all excited and ready to do the MANLY GRILLING OUT thing! This morning,I decided that I would try a new ice cream recipe and thought well,I'll make a cake and let Zachary decorate it for the 4th of July. So I ended up baking a cake-I found some sugar-free cake mixes at the store and since there are 3 diabetics in the house,this is a good option for us. Sometimes I'll make a cake from scratch but today wasn't that day! When it came time to decorate the cake,Zach was too enthralled in a video game,so I ended up decorating it myself. I ended up doing a half chocolate frosted-half vanilla frosted cake with chocolate sprinkles and red/white/blue star marshmalls. I thought I had another can of sugar-free chocolate frosting in the pantry,but I didn't-so I improvised! I tend to do alot of that in my cooking-much to the husband's chagrin!

Now,back to the good part--THE ICE CREAM. I've read about Banana ice cream on quite alot of blogs and thought why not try it--since I have a ton of bananas in the freezer. While the husband and I were doing a de-clutter of the living room this morning,I took the bananas out and let them get a little soft. Later,I dumped all of the bananas into the food processor and added in a little bit of ice cream mix I had in the fridge (chocolate silk,a little heavy cream,and splenda). I've been playing with the ice cream maker latey and had a little mix left over from yesterday's experiment. I processed it until it was nice and thick and creamy. I had intended to blend it smooth and then put it in the ice cream maker and see how it turned out,but it was so smooth and creamy from just using the processor that I just spooned it into a huge bowl and put it in the freezer. I had to pry the bowl out of the hubby's hands it was so good! He went to the store to get some things I forgot to get yesterday and I have a strong feeling he might be picking up more bananas! Believe me,you HAVE to try this one!


BANANA ICE CREAM

frozen bananas (I used a gallon and 1 quart size zippie bags of frozen bananas)
**1cup of ice cream mix OPTIONAL (chocolate silk soy milk--heavy cream--splenda)

**I just added the extra things because I needed to use before they ruined- you can just use bananas and have a delicious dessert!

I Hope Everyone Has A Safe and Fun 4th of July!

HAPPY 4th OF JULY,EVERYON!!!!! Whatever you do this long holiday weekend,I hope you have a safe,happy,fun 4th of July. Please,remember why we are FREE!

Friday, July 1, 2011

I HATE FOOD ALLERGIES.........

I had a close call today. Of all the crazy things I'm allergic to the following foods: CARROTS,TOMATOES,BLUE-BERRIES, and PECANS (a southern girl allergic to pecans-unreal!). Today for a snack/lunch,I was having 4cheese cheese crisps and hummus. YUM-love some hummus! I was munching on them checking out my FaceBook pals and getting ready to dive into some more family tree reseach,and I noticed that I was starting to feel funky. My nose started to get a little sniffly and my tongue went numb. When I figured out my tongue was numb I realized it was allergies. I flipped the box around and scanned the ingredients and found the culprit----DEHYDRATED TOMATOES....On CHEESE crisps???? You have to be kidding me!! Now I could understand that if they were an italian cheesy flavor or a queso cheese or nacho cheese flavor--but plain cheese? GREAT!!! I had to scrounge around and find what little benadryl was left in the house-not even a full adult dose. I had only had a handful of crackers,so I'm hoping that it wasn't enough to result in a full-blown allergic reaction. But it did get me to thinking. Many years ago when I first started taking allergy shots,I did them at home myself--3 shots twice a week. The allergy dr had me get one of those epi-pens just in case something triggered a re-action. Now I see a different allergy clinic for my shots and they do them in the office--2shots every week or as needed. They haven't given me an epi-pen but I do have to wait in the office for about 15mins after getting the shots. I'm thinking I might ask at my next shot appointment next week and see if I might need to get an epi-pen. I guess I'll wait a little bit and go make a caesar chicken salad for lunch!