Monday menus and other business.....

Sorry about the week off. I hope no body was harmed because of me not posting a menu last week. I would hate to feel responsible for any family not being fed *insert silly grin here*.

We have been pretty busy here at the Smiff household. Lots of things going on but not much getting done! I sometimes feel as if I am trying to run in mud.....not that I really run all that much. I have a firm belief that one should only run if one is being chased by something very scary.....like a grizzly bear, or a mugger, or an angry mob, or a mutant swarm of bees.....well, you get the idea. I don't do running. Anyway, back to my feelings. I feel like I have been so very very busy but haven't accomplished a darn thing. Do you ever feel that way? I don't especially like it. I also feel as if I have been in somewhat of a fog. That isn't helping me accomplish much either. Oh well, I am pretty sure my family has had most of the required meals, I think...and they have clean clothes, most likely.......and they are all safe and happy.....ok, they aren't miserable....much.
I hope I recover from whatever it is that ails me soon so I can get back into enjoying life and accomplishing.......stuff! When you are saying your prayers, send one up for me if you don't mind. thanks.

On to menus:
Monday: Marinated pork chops, San Fran treat, green beans, corn
Tuesday: Cheddar sausages, baked beans, fruit salad
Wednesday: Baked chicken, baked red skin potatoes, carrots, spinach
Thursday: Ham, mac and cheese, green beans
Friday: Meatball stroganoff over noodles, peas, salad

There you have it.
You know what might be fun? How about, in honor of the upcoming Mom's day, let me know your favorite meal that your mom used to cook for you. Just post it in the comments section so we can all enjoy it! Thanks in advance for playing!!! I will let you know mine in my next post. OH the suspense...........

Babies! We have babies!!!

RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR FRONT DOOR a mommy and daddy cardinal built a nest in the bush/tree thingy. The nest is right in my line of vision. I can look out the side windows by our front door and clearly see mommy in her nest. I do have to get closer to see our babies. Triplets! We have triplets!!!!!! Can ya'll tell that I am excited? So far, mommy trusts me. I have gotten very close to her and she just blinks her beautiful black eyes at me but doesn't move a muscle. I have half expected her to attack but she hasn't. I think she sees me with "the boy" and maybe understands that I am a mommy too. (ok. maybe that is just what I want to believe)Who knows what goes on in that little birdy brain of hers. Heck. Maybe she just can spot someone with a very large "Elly Mae Clampett" gene and instinctively knows I just love critters and would never cause her and her babies harm. Or maybe she has even seen me gently capture a spider/moth/lizard/tree frog, and release them back into the wild. Ok. Wild may have been an over exaggeration. I release them into our front yard. Anyway.....PICTURES....I HAVE PICTURES!!!!!!!

Somebody FEED ME!!!!!!!!!!

YOU are NOT my MOMMY!!!!!!!!!!

Can't. Stop. Naming. Colors. Help. Please......

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Corrections and additions.......

I was reminded that Saturday's wedding was not Noah's first wedding. He did attend my cousin's wedding when he was 3 (almost 4). He did not behave as well at that wedding and had to be escorted out.........he spent most of the wedding in the car being advised on proper wedding etiquette by his daddy. So. This was his first complete wedding!

Also, I really need to give a shout out to my BFF, aka Aunt Jeanie. She arrived at my house at 10:00 that morning and worked her patootie off helping with the food, set up, reception, clean up and all around moral support until I dropped her back at her house around 5:00. That is a sacrifice folks and I appreciate her more than she will ever know!
I hope God has blessed all ya'll, all six of ya'll with a wonderful friend like my Jeanie!

This is her and my Pops in the kitchen. Pops is lookin all fancy cuz he stood in for the Father of the Bride.

Also, daddy of the year, aka dh, handled getting Noah to his t-ball game, then home, cleaned up, dressed up in his wedding duds and to the wedding in time to also do the sound and music for the wedding. I hope God has blessed you with a fantastic dh like mine and if you don't have a dh, I hope He one day blesses you with one.....or a dw if you happen to be a dude.

This is dh at the wedding.

This is dh after I asked him to smile for me. See the difference? Me neither. ok. Maybe I do see a little grin. I tell ya, the man cracks me up!

Monday menus, weddings and other stuff......

O.K. It's over. I think it was a success. The bride and groom seemed very pleased and that is what is most important to me. A lot of the guests also were complimenting the foodstuffs with crumbs falling out of their mouths while they talked.......I think that's a good sign.

Noah attended. This was his first wedding and he really did well. He was mostly quiet during the ceremony. He tends to get a little uncomfortable when things are very quiet so he loudly cleared his throat during an unusually quiet moment. I don't think it made a very big impact though since I didn't see any heads whipping around to see what in the world that noise was.

The wedding was beautiful! The pastor did a wonderful job and quite a few tears were shed. The bride and groom were beaming and so very joyful. There is no doubt in my mind that God was smiling as well. A success indeed!

This is what the cake looked like. The bottom layer was half chocolate and half vanilla. The middle was strawberry. That way the guests had their choice. (you didn't hear it from me, but some people asked for all three...gasp! ok. probably, I would have done the same thing but that's beside the point)

Needless to say, I'm sure the family is happy that this is over. I will still be cooking but it will be for them again!

Monday: Pork roast, rice and gravy, cabbage/green beans and corn (cabbage is for me*family will not touch cabbage*family says....yuchhhhh!)

Tuesday: Turkey stroganoff casserole, peas.(I put the leftover turkey from a few weeks ago in the freezer*can be made with chicken too*family LOVES this casserole*it gets gone really fast)

Wednesday: Teriyaki chicken tenders, ham fried rice, stir fry veggies.

Thursday: Pulled pork BBQ sandwiches (from Monday's leftover pork roast) baked beans, fruit salad.

Friday: Lasagna, garlic bread, salad.

Sound good? I does to me, especially after last week's sandwich festival!

Monday Menus, lite

I was sweetly reminded by Southern Girl Now Known As Mommy that I have yet to post my weekly menus. I am using the term sweetly loosely since she did kinda insinuate that without my menus her family would starve and it would be my fault. (see comment on previous post) As my six faithful readers might remember, last week I received a somewhat sarcastic comment from my husband and I called him a name. Well the name is going to be used on Southern Mommy too.......


Smarty Pants!

There. I said it. (for those of you that know her...you also know that she is one of the most precious human beings in the world and I love her much)

OK. I'm sure you are all on the edge of your proverbial seats wondering what in the world I meant by "lite" in the title. Well, I am catering a wedding this Saturday and I am trying to make everything at the last possible minute so I can have it all be as fresh as possible. I am also doing their wedding cake (it is a small wedding or I would not do both the cake and the catering) Anyway. I am also doing my monthly birthday cake for my BFF's office. I will be spending a lot of time in the kitchen, but to my family's dismay, it won't be cookin dinner......sorry.
So, hear goes Monday Menus, the lite edition.

Monday: Hot Dogs and whatever you can find to go with them
Tuesday: Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Wednesday: Ham sandwiches
Thursday: Tuna salad or whatever else I can find that is fast as lightning
Friday: For the love of PETE people, I am catering a wedding tomorrow........feed yourselves for crying out loud!!!

(I tend to get a little tense the night before......)

I just love these things........

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Yeah, but there is only ONE me.......ya'll are thankful aren't ya!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 3,667 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

A Slight Complication With Putting The Guitar Away.....

Monday Menus

One evening last week, Gene said "Honey, what's for dinner?" and I then told him. Nothing unusual about the question or the answer except he then said................"I wouldn't have to ask if the menu was on your blog".



Smarty pants.



Monday: Roast beef, taters and gravy, collards and beets.
Tuesday: Country fried steak, rice, green beans and corn
Wednesday:Baked fish, mac and cheese, fruit salad and green peas (I just KNOW Annie wants in on this meal..she loves green peas you know!)
Thursday: Teriyaki chicken tenders, fried rice, stir fry veggies
Friday: Philly cheese steak sandwiches, caramelized onions and salad. (I have to prepare extra onions for the little man......he LOVES them....weird huh.)

And by the way, a couple of you wanted to know if Noah will eat all this? Heck no! I just try to have leftovers of what he will eat or he gets a Pb&j! We just keep offering for him to try new things and hopefully, eventually, he will eat a wider variety. The items in green are things he will eat. Very strange....very strange!
Items in orange are things that no one in this house except me will touch.....not even with a ten foot pole.
I have a friend whose mother used to cook 2 or 3 complete meals for dinner so everyone in her house would be happy..........NOT THIS CHICK! I do try to have at least one or two ITEMS that everyone will eat, but, if not....there is always sandwich stuff in the fridge. Help yourself. Oh yeah, and there is always Pb&j!

We have new Smiths........

Yes, we have some new members in the Smith family. Aunt Jeanie (picture me saying that with my teeth clenched) decided that little man needed some turtles. So. We now have two bouncing baby turtles and six guppies. She and her son sweetly provided the tank, gravel, food, light, heater and all other types of necessary items that turtles apparently require, and some much needed advice on how to care for two new bouncing baby turtles.
After their introduction to Noah, he proclaimed "they're SO CUTE!" and promptly dubbed them Max and Zach. Noah then moved one of his small chairs directly in front of the tank so he could observe them up close and personal. Never mind that the chair is now blocking our walkway.....it matters not to the boy. It is for his convenience, not ours (just between you and me, the chair is being moved as soon as he isn't paying attention.....)Ok. On with the photos.....

This is Zach. He is a red eared slider.

And this is Max. He is a yellow belly um.....something or another......I am such a bad turtle mother! I can't remember my new fella's exact species....sigh.
This is Noah's new observation post.
Aunt Jeanie really knows how to make a little guy smile!
Ok. I am no longer gritting my teeth. I do really love the new additions to my family. I agree with Noah. They ARE really cute! Gene is enjoying them as well and the other two boy fella's seem to think they are pretty cool. The doggies don't really seem to care about them BUT there is someone that is very perplexed about the situation.............

I was able to read her thoughts earlier and this is what I received.........."I have GOT to find a way in there. OH LOOK! There is a little hole at the top here and I think I can get my paw down in there.......DRATS! I can't reach the water.....CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TAKE THIS TOP OFF SO I CAN GET IN THERE AND CAPTURE MY NEW TOYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Aunt Jeanie. You are the best!

It's been a while so here are four things to get me back in the swing.....

Sorry I have been gone so long. I have missed ya'll but just couldn't get into the bloggin groove! My mind has been clogged with all kinds of "stuff" and I couldn't complete a coherent thought much less write it down! I am hoping the fog has lifted and I will be back to normal soon! Sooooo, until I can get my thoughts untangled, this little meme I received by email will get me started. I am going to tag 4 of my bloggity peeps at the end.....oh the suspense!


Four jobs you have had:
1. Mommy (the best one yet)
2. Express Teller Services, Armored Truck co.- ATM tech/Asst Mgr/ Night Vault
3. Heritage Trust – Teller
4. South Carolina Federal – Teller/Asst Head Teller/ Head Teller/ Facilities Dept Administrator

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1.Terms of Endearment
2.Pretty in Pink
3.Madagascar
4.The Princess Bride

Four places I have lived:
1. North Chicago, Illinois
2. Honolulu, Hawaii
3. Nashville, Tennessee
4. The Philippine Islands

Four (very cool) places I have been:
1. New York City, New York
2. All the New England states during the fall
3. Atlanta, Georgia and a Braves game with my (at the time) brand new wonderful husband
4. Under the Pacific ocean in a submarine during a dependants' cruise

Four People who e-mail me (regularly):
1. Mom and Pops
2. April P.
3. MOPS people
4. My Daily Calendar

Four of my favorite TV shows:
1. The Biggest Loser
2. Ace of Cakes
3. Anything with Alton Brown
4. Medium

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Seafood, especially scallops, shrimp and crab
2. Mexican
3. Japanese and most Oriental
4. Salt…….you know, potato chips with salt, popcorn with salt, goldfish with salt, pretzels with salt, cheese nips with salt, etc.

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. On vacation anywhere with ALL my family
2. In a craft store, with my friends, with an unlimited budget J
3. In the mountains
4. On “The Biggest Loser” having lost about 50 pounds or so

Four friends I think will respond:(by email)
1. Tina
2. April
3. Stacie
4. Teri (if she has the time during MOVING TO OMAHA!!!)


Four Things I am looking forward to in 2008:
1. Watching the boys grow and mature…..ok, maybe not mature, but grow……Noah starting school, Kevin entering 10th grade….he had BETTER be entering 10th grade…..
2. The family reunion in Tennessee
3. Paying off at least one bill
4. Growing stronger in my faith

And the 4 bloggity peeps (multiplied by 2) being tagged are...........
1. Wendy over at Well Mannered Frivolity
2. Unkempt Mommy from Making a Person
3. Angela over at Becoming Me
4. Annie from Magner's Random Ramblings
5. Jaime at Training Up In The Way
6. Shawna Lee from Shoo Fly Pie and Grits
7. Cousin April over at The Irishman's Housewife
and last but not least.....
8. Ted at stragglingband
I would tag his beautiful wife but alas.....still no blog in sight. sigh.