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.

A slight complication with...um....well, I kinda need that seat........

Monday Menus and other stuff....

Well, I think dh and I are finally on the mend. My poor husband was mostly like the energizer rabbit guy. Bless his heart, he just kept going and going. I am glad he is finally feeling better!
My sneezing, coughing, sniffling, tinkling thing kind of morphed into a stomach, headache, general yucky thing. Yesterday, the stomach thing morphed into a back ache which for me involves bulging disks pressing onto nerves thing. I'm not whining really, just explaining my absence from bloggy land. I try to keep up with the following attitude......if I wake up breathing, I am blessed. If I can get out of the bed, I am twice blessed. If I have a spring in my step, I am three times blessed! There you have it!
On to the menu planning.....

Monday: We were honored to share a wonderful meal with the JOY group from our church. JOY stands for Just Older Youth....it is an exclusive club...you have to be 50 or older. If ya'll have not had the privilege of meeting these precious people, you can get to know them by helping out! Just email seniors@riverbluff.org. By the way, we got to share that meal because my dh hooked up with cBoz's main squeeze and entertained the masses. They did some foot stompin bluegrass and gospel music and a good time was had by all!

Now, back to the menu....sorry.
Tuesday: Fried chicken, the San Francisco treat, green beans, corn and rolls.
Wednesday: No cook day
Thursday: Roast beef, carrots, mashed pots and gravy, peas.
Friday: Baked pasta* and spinach.

*This is my own creation.....I use some kind of corkscrew pasta shape, mix it with spaghetti sauce(I try to make a double batch when I make spaghetti so I will have left over for this dish), pepperoni, Canadian bacon, onions, green pepper and mozzarella cheese. Toss it in a big ole baking dish, top with some more cheese and bake till bubbly. YUM!

On another note......the following conversation just happened in Smithville. If you have teenage boys, I'm sure it has happened to you in some variation. For those of you that do not have teenage boys yet, just take note and prepare.....it is coming.

Oldest boy: (holding a bag of microwave popcorn)How long do you cook this? Every time I do it, it burns....I follow the directions....
Me: Well, how long do the directions say to cook it?
Oldest boy: 1 minute to 1 minute and 30 seconds.....
Me: Well, how long do you cook it?
Oldest boy: I don't know, 2 minutes I guess.....
Me: WHY are you cooking it for 2 minutes when it says to only cook it for 1? THAT is why it is burning.....the longer you cook something, the more likely it is to OVERCOOK!!
Oldest boy: oh.

AHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!! If you need me, I will be repeatedly hitting my head against the wall.......pass the aspirin please.

A slight complication with folding laundry.......

Monday Menus

Update*** Because I was still feeling bad, my wonderful husband provided the dinner for Monday......he ordered pizza. I said he provided, not cooked. Remember, he is feelin poopie too. Anyway, the bottom line is, he took care of dinner so I didn't have to cook.....that deserves a big pat on the back. Thanks honey!

I have been trying to get sick since last Wednesday or so. I refused. My body didn't care that I was in denial so I finally had to give in.....I'm sick. So is Gene. We are doing the tag team thing.....he naps a while then I nap a while. So far it is working out well. I am actually feeling a little better today so I think I see light at the end of the tunnel. Gee, I hope I really am getting better and it's not THE light.....
Anyway, THANKFULLY, the boys are not sick. Please pray that the boys continue to stay well and that Gene and I get better soon. Thanks.
As far as the menu goes, nothin fancy this time!

Monday: breakfast - eggs, toast.....comfort food.
Tuesday: Marinated chicken tenders, green beans, fried rice
Wednesday: No cook day
Thursday: Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread
Friday: Pork chops, mashed pots and gravy, honeyed carrots, spinach

Ya'll have a good week! Hopefully I will be back soon......yawn....sniff, cough, sneeze, tinkle, oops.

A slight complication with Bible study.....

A (young) man in uniform.......

Just HAD to share a picture or two of the handsome ROTC fella of the house.

Doesn't he look great?!!!!!

He is such a great big brother and role model.

We are very proud of this young man!

Monday Menus

I decided that I would post the week's menu on my blog from now on. I usually do it on a piece of paper and sit it next to the fridge. By the end of the week, it has gotten schmootz on it and if the cat has spotted it, well, it will then have claw marks on it. I figured if I posted it on my blog, it wouldn't get messed up, shredded, or lost. You see, the thing is, I love to cook but I hate to plan what to cook so I figured this may make it a bit easier. Plus, if I can maybe talk the rest of you into doing it too, we could share menu ideas and make our lives much easier. Maybe we could even start doing some recipe sharing as well....who knows how big this thing could get. We could maybe even reach 10's of 20's of people!!! This could be HUGE!

ok. never mind about the HUGE thing....lets just share a few ideas between the six of us and see how that works.....

Monday: beef tacos with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes and maybe a smidgen of sour cream..., Spanish rice.

Tuesday: crock pot pork roast, collards, corn, mashed potatoes and pork gravy.

Wednesday: We are usually running around like crazy people so we grab something on the way to or from church...so, lets just call Wednesday's a no-cook day from now on.

Thursday: Baked BBQ chicken, mac and cheese, and green beans

Friday: Breaded baked fish, (I trust the Gorton's fisherman) and any leftover veggies and things from the days before. Let's dub Friday's "clean out the fridge" night.

Saturday: Small group night. We usually all eat together. This week we will be having soup, salad and fresh fruit.

Well, there you have it. Sounds pretty good to me. Bon Appetite!