Cooking Thursday

Sandra at Diary of a Stay At Home Mom hosts Cooking Thursday (formally Slow Cooker Thursday.)  Ironically, my offering this week comes from the slow cooker lol.  The recipe is from the Crock Pot site itself, although I altered it slightly.

Apricot Chicken

1 jar apricot preserves
1 cup Russian dressing (I used French)
1 envelope dry onion soup mix (I omitted)
6 chicken breasts

Put your chicken in the crock.  Mix up the preserves, dressing and soup mix (if you are using.)  Pour over chicken.  Cook on high for 1 hour and low for 3 to 4 hours.

This turned out quite tasty, the boys and I all loved it.  The best part?  There were two breasts left over.  I shredded them, poured the leftover sauce over them and saved them for lunches for the week.  Oh, they made the BEST sandwiches!

Mmm.  Head over to Sandra’s to see more wonderful recipes.  :)

Product Review and Giveaway: Nature’s Peak Frozen Fruit

Thanks to Mom Central, the boys and I had the chance to experience a little summer goodness on this dreary winter day.  We were asked to try out Nature’s Peak frozen fruit and spread the word about this super new product.

We received the Paradise Fruit Medley and the Sunburst Mango.  Mmm, mango.  Right off the bat the boys begged for a smoothie.

It’s so very easy to make a smoothie and it’s a great way to get some nutrition into my sometimes picky boys.  For this one I used some fruit juice, a couple of vanilla yogurts, and the bag of Nature’s Peak Paradise Fruit Medley.

I think he likes it.  :)  Well, you may be asking, just what is so different about Nature’s Peak frozen fruit.  I’ll tell ‘ya.  First off, the variety.  Not only do they have bags of single fruit, but also some of the neatest mixes I’ve seen like the Paradise Fruit Medley (peaches, kiwi, mango, pineapple and cantaloupe,) Berry Quartet (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries,) and Sun Ripened Trio (strawberries, peaches and mangos.)  You couldn’t put together those combos yourself!

What I like the best?  The fruit actually tastes good by itself.  I usually only buy frozen fruit to use in smoothies because, honestly, it just doesn’t taste good once you thaw it.  It’s too ripe and mushy or not ripe enough and bland.  I suspect the companies just throw in the fruit they can’t sell when it’s in season.  But I let the bag of Nature’s Peak mango defrost and ate it alone…well, ds4 and I did lol.  He is my fellow mango lover in the house.  It was truly tasty!  The pieces were all just ripe enough and juicy.  A little treat during the season of oranges and bananas lol.

Be sure and check out the Nature’s Peak website for delicious recipes and the low-down on all the nutritional goodness in their products.  Right now the product is available in select areas; visit this link for more info.

List of places where Nature’s Peak is available:
    Florida (All Regions)
New England (All Regions)
    New Jersey (All Regions)
    Maryland (All Regions)
Virginia (All Regions)
   Washington (Seattle Area)
   Oregon (Portland Area)
   California (Los Angeles, San Jose Areas)
   Arizona (Phoenix Area)
North Carolina (South West Area)
   South Carolina (North West Area)
   Georgia (South East and North East Areas)
   Missouri (Northern Area)
   Louisiana (New Orleans Area)
   Arkansas (Little Rock Area)

Here is some more good news.  I have two coupons for a free bag of Nature’s Peak Frozen Fruit to give away!

Y’all know I like to keep my giveaways simple so just leave a comment and a way to contact you and you are entered.  I will draw the two winners on Wednesday January 6th.  Good luck and thanks for stopping by.  :)

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Nature’s Peak and received a sample to facilitate my candid review as well as two coupons to giveaway. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

New Years Thoughts

I don’t personally think of New Year’s as a holiday.  Don’t know why, maybe after all the Thanksgiving/Christmas hoopla I am just partied out.  Never been a big fan of losing sleep or drinking, so what’s the point?  That being said, we will be hosting a gathering (completely against my will) today.  Just my brother and his wife.  We hardly get to see them so it’s a welcome event, but I fear there are ulterior motives for the visit.  Ah, gotta love family.

I am glad it’s an “ends in 0” year.  I like years that end in 5 and 0.  Lots of good things have happened for me in 5 and 0 years.  My dh and three of my children were born in 0 and 5 years (as was my granddaddy…in 1900.  Wow, he would have been 110.  Weird.)  I graduated high school in a 5 year.  And when you stink at math like I do, 0 and 5 years are easy on the brain.  :)

Yes, I “do” resolutions.  I like to think of them more as year long goals.  Last year I resolved to keep up with my photo albums.  I did it, too.  Check it out.

  This is a little cabinet in my entryway.  It currently houses albums from 2002 to an (almost) finished 2009 (just waiting on the Christmas pics to come in the mail.)  I tell ‘ya that feels GOOD!  I am all caught up and ready for next year.  I did it pretty frugally, too, as I waited for specials and freebies to order prints.

So what are my resolutions this year? 

1. Continue with keeping up with photos
2. Use more reusable bags for groceries
3. Limit buying by using library more and making more things from scratch
4. Read the Bible in a year

I think they are pretty attainable goals, and I will be sure and blog my progress.  Oooh, I see a once-a-month post in my future!  Happy New Year’s to you all.  :)

Hello and Welcome…

to my divorce.  It arrived with my dh after a business trip to Jacksonville.

The boys were very excited, they had to slap each other to contain themselves.

How many men does it take to lift a divorce?  Two?

Three maybe?

Well there ‘ya go, son, say hello to my divorce.

It’s been a wonderful 21 years, honey.

Homeschool Planning: Reality Check

I “googled” homeschool planning images.  Here is a sample of what popped up.

Sweet, isn’t it?  I’ve been catching up on homeschool planning this week.  Here is a sample of what popped up in my home.

Yikes!

Reality is scary.  :)

Weekly Weigh-In

Since I don’t count New Year’s as a “holiday” I can officially say, “I made it through the holidays without gaining weight.”  Woo hoo!  As a matter of fact I am down another pound.  153 is the official report.  Whew.  I did “indulge” a bit, having a slice of pie here and a cookie or two there (oh and my Mom’s dressing!) but I didn’t really overeat and I still exercised pretty faithfully.

I am beginning to actually see changes in my body.  I wore button up pants to our Christmas Eve gathering!  I am usually all about the elastic waist lol.  My Mom got me some exercise tops for Christmas and I don’t mind putting them on…usually I avoid anything snug-fitting at all costs.  So there is some definite progress going on.

This week I am going to weigh in on…weights!  I love working out with weights.  It doesn’t have to be on a bench in a gym or with barbells and all that.  Just a 1, 3 or 5 pound hand held weight can make all the difference in the world to your workout.  When you build muscle you increase your calorie burning abilities,  strengthen your bones and make every day life easier.  And you only have to use weights about twice a week to see results.  You can follow a dvd routine or just learn some of the basics and make a workout yourself.  Be sure and click over to Eclipsed and check out how others are weighing in this week.  :)

Christmas Recap

We had a most blessed and beautiful holiday.  I mean really, really wonderful.  No one was sick, dh was not on call, the family was all together…it was just lovely.

We spend Christmas Eve with dh’s family.  We used to have the gathering at the Boy Scout Camp where my fil was ranger, but he retired last year so this year we were graciously allowed to party down at my sil’s church.

My sil always does a wonderful job with hosting.  She decorates and cooks up a storm.

We arrived about an hour late as dh had to work a half day.  Everyone had just about finished eating when we finally got there.  This is my mom in the red and my dad in the brown jumpsuit on the right, talking with my bil.  Yes I know I said this was dh’s side of the family, but we grew up together so my family joins in as well.  :)

One of my nephews and ds2.  I can tell ‘ya, this gang was up to no good the whole afternoon (including playing basketball outside IN THE RAIN.)  Boys are crazy like that.

Dh’s oldest brother plays Santa.  With such a large family we draw names for the kiddos and play dirty Santa for the adults.

Ds4 was very excited about his gift.

My sil is very sweet and somehow every year I manage to draw a girl’s name for a gift.  :)  Hey, I don’t get to go down the girly aisle of stores any other time lol!  I drew my niece and got her some jewelry.

Ds3 got legos and had them put together and played with them before we finished dessert lol.

Christmas day we open our gifts at home and then head to my parent’s home.  You many think I’m a bad mom, but I have no pics of our Christmas morning.  On purpose.  I instead was completely involved in the moment and have to say I enjoyed it even more without having to worry about getting a pic of everything.

My dad’s tree.

My niece, her husband and those adorable twins (in their Elmo p.j.’s!)  One of the twins was sitting by me at dinner, turned toward me and held out his arms to be picked up.  I fainted with joy and pulled him right into my lap.  Only to find out he was soaking wet lol.  I didn’t care, it was still a precious moment.  :)  We had over 30 family members present this year and it was heaven on earth.

I lied.  I did take one pic on Christmas morning.  I had to!

‘Cause this is the cutest thing ever!  I feel so blessed by all my family and am thankful for such a terrific holiday with them.

Strike Update

We have reached a compromise.

Having A Hard Time

posting, because my executive assistant is on strike.

Updates as they become available.

Cats On Tuesday: Merry Christmas!

To all my Cats On Tuesday friends I wish a Very Merry Christmas…

a cute kitty cuddled on your couch,

and one under your tree.  :)  Meowy Christmas!  For more kitty fun visit Gattina, where Rosie serves up mousie water and Arthur…well, he’s just Arthur.  :)

Fall Reading Challenge Results

Well it’s official, it’s winter and the Fall Into Reading challenge hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days is over.  Done.   Finished.  I know you are dying to know…how did I do?

I read a lot.  8 new books to be precise.  Not as many as some, but enough for me.  :)  I had 10 on my list that I wanted to read but only got to 5 of those.  I couldn’t get my hands on the other 5!  But I had some good substitutions.  And as usual, I reread.  How could I not with the new Twilight movie coming out (so there’s 4 books right there) and then the latest Harry Potter movie out on DVD (read the last 2 books in that series.)

My favorite book from this challenge?  Definitely The Sugar Queen.  Least fave?  Still Life.  As always the challenge was great fun.  Thanks Katrina for hosting!  :)  I met some new reading buddies and got lots of ideas for books to read.  Oh, and I read lol.

Rolling In Dough

Yes it’s true, I am the Christmas Cookie Queen.  However, this year I haven’t been as interested in the whole cookie scene…something to do with my weight loss endeavors you think?  ;)  Yes, losing 15 pounds gives you a little incentive to skip the Christmas goodies.  I’ve made a few goodies for my boys here and there, but why tempt myself?  I mentioned this to my husband and he totally guilted me…”Everyone will miss your cookie baskets!”  So today I gave in and made cookie dough.  4 to be precise, and a batch of Oreo Cookie treats.  Over the next few days I’ll bake them all up and package them to give out to the siblings and in-laws on Christmas Eve.  I shared the recipes for most of the cookies on my recipe blog last year and will post the others as I finish.  Please send good “avoiding sweet treats” vibes my way, and lots of them.  :)

Product Review: Ultimate Party Meatballs

Thanks to Mom Central I was able to try out a quick and easy recipe for that beloved holiday treat, meatballs.  Well, not just any meatballs, but Ultimate Party Meatballs.   Putting these yummy treats together couldn’t be easier!

You can whip them up on the stovetop, but I am all about my crockpot lately.  :)

All you need is some frozen meatballs, a can of Ocean Spray cranberry sauce, a jar of Heinz chili sauce and a Santa spoon rest.  I also threw in some little weenies for kicks.

Santa not only holds your spoon, but the recipe card too.  Told ‘ya you needed him.  Can’t read the tiny print?  Not to worry, there is a super website set up with the recipe for the Ultimate Party Meatballs and other delicious ideas as well.

All it takes is 4 hours on high and you are set!  Using the crockpot frees up your stove and yourself for more important matters.  Plus you can just tote your crockpot over to the party and back…less cleanup and mess.  This is exactly what I am going to do for our annual Christmas Eve gathering.  I can throw everything in the crock in the morning and by noon when we leave it is ready.  Love it!

But who says you need a party (or utensils) to enjoy these 3 ingredient treats?

Not my guys.  :)  Go forth, acquire these simple ingredients and bring some deliciousness to your holiday gatherings.  Your crockpot will come home empty.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Heinz and Ocean Spray and received the ingredients necessary to facilitate my review. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Weekly Weigh-In

154 still.  No change.  No problem, happy that we are at least holding our own.  This weight loss has been quite slow for me but it’s to be expected.  #1 I am over 40 now and the hormones and metabolism are confused.  #2 I am not following a drastic diet, just eating less of the same food I’ve always eaten.  #3 I exercise but I’m not running any marathons here.  When I complained to someone at Thanksgiving that the weight loss was too slow she said not to worry, that losing slowly meant it was more likely to stay lost.  I am finding that to be true.  ;)

This week I’m weighing in on exercise dvd’s.  Love them!  I have a nice collection, but of course it’s always nice to have some variety.  (Holy cow, I just used “nice” twice in the same sentence.  Sister Margaret, my 11th grade English teacher, is going to kill me.)   Enter Netflix.  I finally caved in and started a subscription this year, mainly for their AWESOME exercise collection.  Not only can I rent an actual dvd, but they have tons of streaming videos as well.  I just move stuff out of the way and workout right there in front of my desk.  I don’t have to worry if it turns out that I don’t like the workout…I didn’t buy it!  (Can’t say the same for Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred.  I did buy it and I hate it!)  So instead of investing $10 a month on one new exercise dvd I now spend that on an unlimited amount.  Cool.  Check out Kris’s weight loss journey at Eclipsed.  She has very inspiring posts (and hardly ever uses the word “nice.”)

Cats On Tuesday: Outtakes

We all try for that perfect shot of our precious kitties.  Sometimes we fail.  ;)

Winnie is into the whole “Twilight” thing.  This is his take on Edward.

We are too late.  Rigamortis has set in.  (How in the world can she sleep like that?)

 

  I wrenched my back out trying to get this shot. 

Winnie the contortionist.  Again, I wonder how they sleep like that?  Then again, I have a teenager who can sleep standing up lol.

For more kitty fun head over to Gattina’s.  Happy COT!

Christmas Around The World: Week 2

Last week we visited 3 more countries to learn how they celebrate Christmas.  First off was Germany, where we learned about the origins of the Christmas tree and Kris Kringle.

  We made this Christmas tree ornament with a pipe cleaner and beads.  Ds3 went a little overboard with the beads lol.

Next up was Mexico and discussions about poinsettias and piñatas.  We attempted this poinsettia craft that failed miserably.  Our paper towel soaked up way too much of the paint and essentially never dried.  Still kind of pretty, though.

Finally we learned about how Spain celebrates the holidays and call people to church with bells.  Here are our lovely bell ornaments.

Just simply bells strung on a red pipe cleaner and topped off with a pretty bow.  The boys and I are both enjoying this holiday themed trip around the world and their little Christmas tree is looking great with their homemade ornaments.  I do plan on visiting 3 more countries next week and then taking a homeschooling break until next year.  Ds3 is sick this weekend so we’ll have to see how things go.