Meals, without a plan

I had good intentions of sharing a Monday Meal Plan post and then Monday ran away without me and a quick glance at my calendar late in the evening revealed we'd be lucky to even eat this week! Last night I did make dinner and the pork chops on the grill were so good. Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce is my new favorite.

I also made the simple pumpkin muffins that I see being shared on Pinterest over and over. I added one single serve portion of apple sauce and one can of pumpkin puree to a yellow cake mix. Next I added cinnamon and chocolate chips. The mixture is very thick. I filled about 18 muffin liners and baked for 25 minutes. Oh, I sprinkled the tops with cinnamon and sugar too. They are really tasty! Very moist. They are sweet, more like a cupcake thanks to the premade cake mix. I shared them last night at the PTO meeting but still have plenty leftover for snacks and breakfast. Olivia liked them, Shelby did not even try one.

As for the rest of the week, tonight we will enjoy pizza at the Football and Cheer banquet. Tomorrow will be dining on the go between dance and basketball practice (and a funeral for a dear friend who left way too early).

Thursday is actually not looking bad so something may get prepared at home. Strangely, the Stouffers lasagna keeps calling to me from the freezer. Pin It

Insta Friday

 Whoa! Can you tell someone got a new, much more demanding job? The blogging has fallen way off. No worries. I am slowly finding a groove. Today, it is InstaFriday, the brainchild of Life ReArranged, a wonderful blog that you should click over and read. What is InstaFriday?  Share what you’ve been up to all week using nothing but cell phone pictures!

A recap of our week via iphone pictures:





Shelby (salt) and her classmate (pepper).






Monster Eyeballs






Costume Parade at school





Mega amounts of candy






Before school on Spirit Day





Art on the wall finally. Pictures surrounding are just place fillers for now. Waiting on our new family photos to replace those.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone Pin It

Family Picture Day

I had prepared the family for official picture taking. Everyone was on board and promised to be dressed in coordinating attire and cooperative. And then life happened...
First issue: I buy a bouquet of balloons and before I exit the parking lot, one pops and scares the "you know what" out of me. I turn the car around and get that balloon replaced and acquire 2 more for back up.




The kids get home from school and are excited.
Issue 2: while cutting the tag from Olivia's shirt (closer and closer b/c it was scratchy!) I make two holes. And it was still bothersome. Deep breaths.




Issue 3: Skipper manages to get a black stripe of grease down his back only moments before Carla arrives. (think skunk).





We travel up the street, to the neighbor's yard, uninvited, to make use of their beautiful setting.

Issue 4: moments into posing for the above shot, Skipper gets loose! Olivia falls while chasing him and has a muddy stain on her knee. Dave captures him but only after becoming very irritated.

Carla (of Carla Essen Photography) manages to guide us through an hour long session with a smile on her face which trust me, could not have been easy. Although we were losing the sun quickly, she indulged everyone with their specific requests and then we all headed to Mios for pizza.

No sooner was Shelby out of the car then she announced...

Issue 5: Dave had lost his glasses out of his shirt pocket. Probably in the neighbor's yard filled with leaves, that was now mostly dark. Even better, he was sure he lost them when he was chasing Skipper. The dog. And guess what? Those glasses are about one month old and cost...wait for it...$500!

Well, he retraced his steps immediately and returned to the restaurant about 15 minutes later with the glasses ON. We all did a little cheer at the table :)

So, although this was not a painless procedure by a long shot, it was worth it. And I have so far only seen one official photograph...the one of us all, together, above.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone Pin It

one contest, 2 winners

So I have read the very cute blog SEW THIS IS MY LIFE for going on two years I'd guess. {I began reading when Baby Eli was still in his Momma's belly}.

Cristin has great style, is a wonderful quilter and makes darling items for her Etsy shop.

Last week she had a contest for a Go Baby! fabric cutter. The voice in my head first said: you will never win. But then I recalled how much my Mom really wants a fabric cutter. She wants to make uniform squares and other shapely shapes and she is after all retired now, so...she should have a fabric cutter. Because of this, I took the time to leave a comment and enter the contest. In my blog comment, I said something along the lines of "I'd give this fabric cutter to my mom and just borrow it if I were to win".

Fast forward to Friday evening. I open my email to see a note from Cristin. I had won! I won! I right away called my Mom who said: I've always dreamed of owning one of those.

So, I made my Mom's dream come true. Cristin made my mom's dream come true. AccuQuilt? You made my mom's dream come true. Thank you. Very sincerely, thank you. Pin It

Insta Friday

From a wedding last Saturday. Beautiful church in Dayton.




Oktoberfest dessert table



Cheer



1st day at new job



Great package from Klout perks and Chiquita



In progress Welcome Home banner



Insta Friday is a recap of my week using only cell phone pics.

View more Insta Friday participants at Life Reaaranged.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone Pin It