Scrapbook Tuesday

Okay, I’ll admit I haven’t done a very good job of keeping up with the whole Project Life thing – it just seems like, well, LIFE gets in the way of doing the project!

But, I have been busily scrapbooking again. Enjoying using the new StoryBook Creator 4.0 software (I love it!) and scrapping the pictures from our recent adventures.

Additionally, since I’ve given up on the whole Project Life thingy, I’ve decided to do my 2011 pictures in digital pages – so that gives me tons of pictures (and stories!) to capture… Now, instead of being overwhelmed and feeling like a loser for not doing anything with my PL album, I’m feeling energized and inspired to get some scrapbooking done again!

Here are some pages I did this past week… loving the fact that digital scrapping means no mess and it’s so easy to do a page or two here and there without a big production.

Anyhow – here are the pages – enough rambling!

Menu Plan Monday ~ 7 November

Happy Monday, y’all!

Hope you had a great weekend – we sure did. The weather was beautiful and it was so nice to just hang out together as a family. We didn’t have anything special planned and just enjoyed a relaxing weekend at home – which is special in and of itself, I think.

I’m a homebody. I love to stay home. I love being here, with my family and people I love, just hanging out together and enjoying each other’s company.

Yesterday, we finished up Big Girl’s menu plan week. I have one dish I didn’t make that will roll into this week’s menu and I’m going to work on cooking out of my pantry and freezer this week. I want to see how long I can go without going to the grocery store… challenge myself to see how creative I can get with what we have.

So, while I have a menu in place below, I may shift things around so that I can avoid the store this week. That’s the plan, anyway.

Here’s what I’ll be cookin’ up this week:

Monday: Beef Stew (using leftovers from a roast from Sunday dinner)
Some of these rolls (trying a new recipe) and some hot fudge brownies for dessert (sinful!) (and also a new recipe for the family)
Tuesday: Rotel Chicken Pasta Bake (Big Girl’s menu request from last week)
Wednesday: (not sure yet) Maybe clean out the crisper soup or Pasta Fagioli
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Mexican? or homemade pizzas?
Saturday: Asian Beef & Noodles
Sunday: Spaghetti & Garlic Bread w/ Salad

Lunches for me for the week will include some veggie/taco soup and maybe a salad or two. SuperMan usually has leftovers or whatever soup I make and the girls get some form of a bento box or sandwiches.

I’m also trying something new out this week… I’m trying out Plan to Eat, an online system in which you can store your recipes, build your menu plans and shopping lists all in one place. I have a 30 Day free trial (and you can too, if you sign up) and I thought I’d give it a shot and see how it works.

You may remember that my usual menu planning system involves index cards posted on my refrigerator door. This is way more high tech than that, but I’m willing to give it a shot. I want to see if it helps me to branch out from my “usual suspects” of dinner choices and find some new favorites.

Once I get my menu plan made, I get a nifty shopping list. I can add to it, move thing off of the list (that I already have in my pantry) and edit as I need to.

I am also curious about the option they have where you enter what you have in your pantry/fridge and it suggests menu choices for you. THAT will be way cool when I’m working on my “cook out of the pantry” challenge this week.

I’m also slowly moving my recipes over to the Plan to Eat website, so if you join (or are already a member) send me a friend invite and we can share recipes!

Anyhow, I’ll keep you posted as I fiddle around with the Plan to Eat software and let you know how I like it… and if you’ve used it before, I’d love to hear what you think, too! Please share!

For more menu plan ideas, check out orgjunkie.com.

Menu Planning Tips & Thoughts (thoughtsalonglifeshighway.com)
Menu Plan Monday ~ 3 October (thoughtsalonglifeshighway.com)
Menu Plan Monday & some Random Thoughts (thoughtsalonglifeshighway.com)

Wordless (sorta) Wednesday

I found this in Angelina’s papers from school yesterday – this was an assignment to write about her hero –

“My hero is God. Because he watches over me. He is always with me. He helps me through a hard time. He always loves me. He sings lullabies to me when I go to bed. He hears me when my heart is broken. He makes me feel confident.”

oh.my.goodness.

my sweet baby.

More Scrappin’ (hooray)

I actually scrapbooked this weekend!!

Now, don’t get all excited.

I didn’t pull out paper and glue and scrapbook, scrapbook.

That would be shocking – especially since I haven’t done that in almost nine months or more…

But I did digital scrapbook.

And that counts, right?

I spent a good bit of time on Saturday doing some scrapping and it was simply heavenly. Watched a marathon of the Dog Whisperer and scrapped my heart out. I loved it.

Here are some of the pages I’ve done:

I’ve got more in process, but not quite ready to show you yet.

Menu Plan Monday ~ Halloween

Happy Halloween, y’all!

It is a gorgeous Monday morning here – full of all the beauty of fall in the Southern Foothills… The leaves are absolutely beautiful, the sky is clear and almost sparkling in the morning sunshine. I have really enjoyed just gazing out my windows this morning as I’ve sipped my tea and planned the week.

The kids are out of school today. (crazy, I know, but it is a teacher work day) So, we started out slowly but the day will be busy. Wal Mart, errands and then coming home to bake lasagna for dinner for our friends who are coming over to trick-or-treat with us. It’s a great tradition and we all really enjoy having everyone over. We eat dinner together and then the kids trick or treat with the dads while us moms hand out candy in our cul-de-sac. It’s tons of fun and makes Halloween much more fun (for me, anyway).

As for dinners this week, Big Girl helped out with choosing our dinner plans:

Monday: Lasagna, salad, garlic bread
Tuesday: Fajitas
Wednesday: Meatloaf
Thursday: leftovers or clean-out-the-crisper soup
Friday: Hamburgers/hotdogs
Saturday: Ribs (?) maybe
Sunday: Rotel Chicken Pasta Bake

Most of these are her requests (and her favorites) but I am happy that she has an opinion and wants to have some input. Now, if I can just get her to help with the cooking!

Hope you all have a great week & tons of fun trick-or-treating (if that’s your thing)

For more menu plan ideas, check out orgjunkie.com.

Just a little bit of scrappin’

I’ve been so busy lately – busy and sick – but this week was the first week where I actually felt like my old self again – and had my old energy levels back. Which is such an awesome thing! I missed being the Energizer Bunny of the house and it was so nice to get that back again.

And one of the things the new energy levels allowed me to do was to sneak in a little scrapbooking in the evenings.

I haven’t done a lot and a couple of the pages need some more work but I’m planning to spend a good portion of my weekend either knitting or scrapping – I’m in a crafty sort of mood. Besides, it’s supposed to be chilly and I think staying inside is a good idea.

That’s my story, anyway, and I’m stickin’ to it.

So, here are the pages I’ve been working on –

As you know, I’m working on a Project Life album – or I started one, anyway – but I am seriously considering making my 2011 family album a completely digital one – maybe even ordering a book of just the digital pages. I’ve never done that before, but since I’m doing the majority of the pages digitally anyway, I think I just might go that route this year.

I’m also working on some other little projects – Christmas cards and a Christmas gift surprise for some of my family – but I won’t be sharing those on the blog right now. Don’t want to spoil the surprise!

My newest addiction

I held out for as long as I could.

I really did.

Promise.

I kept telling myself that I had enough things to waste my time with that I did not need to add anything else.

And I believed it.

For a while.

And then I started seeing the cutest things posted on people’s Facebook pages…

things they’d bookmarked over here…

Have you been there before?

evil, evil thing.

Sucks up your time, seriously!

But the things out there – oh, my. Candy for my brain and eyes.

things like this

And this

or this

It’s so much fun.

I may never do many of the things that I pin over there, but it is a great way to relax at the end of a busy day – scrolling down the pages, looking at all the beautiful things.

If you’re already addicted too, I’d love for you to follow me! (I’ll follow you back – I’d love more ideas!)

If you’re not… well, I can’t be held responsible for the time you’re gonna lose if you decide to join us… but it sure is fun!

Come on over and join the party!

Not-so-Veggie-chili-taco-soupy-mega-yummy

I have been craving soups lately.

I think it is the combination of the cooler weather and the “crud” I have been fighting, but all that has really tasted good to me the past few weeks has been soups and stews.

Last night, Big Girl wanted tacos for dinner. So, instead of the planned hamburgers I whipped up some tacos for her. However, my newfangled tummy does not really handle tacos very well, so I went on the hunt for something else for dinner.

Since I’ve been craving soups, I decided to pull out my veggie chili recipe and make that… and then as it simmered and everyone else ate their taco salads (which is how the girls decided they wanted to eat their “tacos”) I thought about that leftover hamburger meat that was sitting in the skillet and decided to toss it in as well.

So, my veggie chili wasn’t so “veggie” anymore. But, it sure is good. I had some for lunch today and probably will eat it for lunch every day this week. It is hearty and filling and the little bit of ground beef in there is hardly noticeable, but the taco seasoning gives it a nice kick that my “normal” veggie chili doesn’t have.

Here’s the mixed-up-mashed-up recipe, just in case you want to give it a try. I’m thinking this will definitely go in the cookbook for future use. Especially when I have leftover meat from taco night!

Lois’ Not-so-Veggie-Chili-Taco-Soup

1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 cans tomatoes with chilies
1 cup frozen corn
~2 Tbsp olive oil
1 – 2 tsp Houston House Seasoning
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 large can chili beans
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 package ranch salad dressing mix
1 (32-ounce) container beef broth
1 cup julienned or finely chopped carrot
1/2 – 1 lb ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced onion (dried)

Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to sauté pan. Brown ground beef, sprinkling minced onion and 1 Tbsp minced garlic while meat is browning. (you can use leftover taco meat instead for this portion of the recipe)
Once meat is browned, add 1 can of tomatoes with chilies and package of taco seasoning. Simmer 5-10 minutes.
In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, sauté carrots, onion & bell pepper in remaining olive oil until tender.
(the rest you can do in a crock pot or on the stove)
Add corn, tomatoes and beans. Add broth & seasonings. Finally, add ground beef.
Cook on simmer/low for at least 30-45 minutes if cooking on stovetop or 2-3 hours on high (4-6 hours on low) if using crock pot.

Menu Plan Monday

We had such a fun weekend. Hiking and exploring in the mountains, enjoying the beautiful weather and glorious views. The leaves were gorgeous, the temperatures just chilly enough to warrant a nice, roaring fire and yet not so cold that we were stuck in the cabin all weekend. It was just about perfect.

We enjoyed some of these:

And lots of this:

And some fantastic vistas:

And now we are back to real life today. No one wanted to get up this morning, we were all still in vacation mode. The creatures were happy we were home, though, and Scooby Cat has been following me around like a little black shadow ever since I walked in the door last night.

Still figuring out what we are going to do exactly for meals this week. Some of it is easy – leftovers from the weekend, or food I bought to cook but didn’t cook because Mom had other things to cook. Some of it is based on special requests from the little monkeys…

Monday: Chicken noodle soup – special request from the girls
Tuesday: Hamburgers & hotdogs (leftover from the weekend)
Wednesday: Lasagna – I’m craving it.
Thursday: not sure yet – most likely leftovers.
Friday: Pizza! (with extra sauce from the lasagna)
Saturday: grilled steaks (leftover from the weekend, but frozen so they can wait) with baked potatoes and grilled veggies

That’s it for me. What are you planning for the week? Have you taken up my challenge? Three menu plans for the next three weeks?

I’m also doing some baking today – need to make some fresh bread and I’m planning to use up some brown bananas by making a double batch of banana bread. I’m also making some baked oatmeal for my ladies’ bible study group tomorrow morning. Busy, busy, bee!

And now I’m off to catch up on email and other things online. Limited internet and phone access over the weekend. It was glorious, but now I need to see what the world was up to this past weekend!!

Hop on over to orgjunkie.com for some more great menu planning ideas!!

Blissful days

We’ve taken a little holiday to the mountains – our annual pilgrimage to the North Carolina mountains to see the turning of the leaves. Mom and PopPop joined us and we all met at a cabin near the Cherohala Skyway – where we’ve stayed in years’ past. We love the area – the mountains are beautiful and the cabin we stay at is nice and welcoming – a perfect place to to relax and disengage from the world.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and spent most of Friday exploring – riding around looking at the beautiful leaves and scenery. We had a wonderful surprise in that it stormed on Thursday and the majority of the Skyway iced over. Mom and PopPop were riding up there in the storm and had to turn back because the roads were icing up.

On Friday we woke up early (I think they kids were up at 5:30!) and we drove up to the Skyway to see what we could see – would the snow still be there?

It was!

and it was absolutely beautiful.

There was some snow, more ice than snow, though… where the rain had fallen and frozen on the trees.

the girls were so excited.

and we took full advantage for photo taking opportunities…

of people and scenery. I really think it was prettier than the fall leaves. and probably something we may never see again as I can’t imagine going up there on that Skyway in January or February! The roads are probably pretty treacherous.

It was cold, but even PopPop got out to walk around and look at the trees.

And SuperMan got a little ice down his back when he tried to shake the ice off of the trees on to the girls and his trick backfired – he ended up with more ice on himself than anyone else!

It’s been a fabulous weekend. Just what I needed to get away from the hustle and bustle of work and every day life. I am really relishing my time in the beauty of the mountains – I almost hate to go home.

almost.

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