Easter

Good Morning and Happy Easter to you!

It looks like it is going to be a cloudy and rainy Easter here this year.

 



 

Whatever the weather, grab your Easter bonnet, your family and

go celebrate the Real reason for this day.

 

 

Good Morning

Good morning, good morning, good morning to you
Good morning, good morning, good morning to you
Our day is beginning, there's so much to do
So, good morning, good morning, good morning to you

I like that little kids song.

Well, today is the day that everyone will be coming over, ready or not. 
I've been busy cleaning house, adding touches of spring here and there, decorating the cake, cooking and baking. 

I am just sitting down with a cup of coffee and then it's back to work for me. 

Like I said, our Easter dinner is today.  Sundays are just so busy for us with church and everything.  It was just best to get everyone together today...and hubby, tomorrow is leftovers! 

My husband is such a good guy.  He just got home from the gym and he is helping out with last minute things around the house.  I love you Honey!

As I said, I've been trying to add touches of spring around the house. 
I'm also a sentimental person, even more so since I lost my parents.  Anyways, you will see in just about every picture there is something of my mom's.  From the rose lights on the mantel, to the antique cheese box with roses on the piano, to the blue dishes on the refrigerator. 
We miss you Mom and Dad!  I know you are in a better place but there is a void in our lives that no one can ever fill.

Check under cakes and crafts for pictures.

Woman's Work

A woman's work is never done,
              from morning light to setting sun!

Amen!  Enough said.

Preparations

My husband's family is coming over Saturday for dinner. 
There will be eleven of us in all.
It was a little challenge to find a time that worked for everyone, but we figured it out. 
Then came the menu, I think it sounds yummy...

 

Ham

Baked Chicken

Macaroni and Cheese

Green Bean Casserole

Baked Beans
Deviled Eggs

Coleslaw

Salad

Relish Tray

Rolls

Cake

Ice Cream

 

I think we will have plenty to eat...Don't you?

This meal will serve as a family get together as well as my father-in-law's birthday and Easter dinner. 

There is much to do in preparation. 
I've been working on the house and yet there is still tons to do.

Then comes the cooking, the baking, and finding a place for everyone to sit.

Now I've had about a month to plan for this dinner. 

I had my plans all laid out and thought that I had a good handle on everything.

Good intentions and all of that.

Have you had those days or even weeks where you had everything planned out and then things just kind of fell apart or changed on you.

Well, we've been having a lot of those lately.

Last week, my plans were to have everything cleaned and straightened up so that this week I could concentrate on the food, maybe a few table decorations and some last minute touch ups, without feeling overwhelmed.

That didn't happen.  I had that accident where my head met the door on the vehicle and let's just say I wasn't up to conquering much of anything last week.

Over the weekend, we got one of those dreaded late night phone calls.  The ones where you know something is wrong as soon as you hear it ring. 
My father-in-law was being taken to the ER. 
He is back home now and ok. 
However, it was a long, tiring weekend of hours in the ER and very little sleep. 

Today, I feel like I'm dragging and there's still tons to do.

The only thing you can do though is to do a little each day and not worry about it.  Right?

The important thing is that everyone gets together and enjoys each other's company.

Of course it helps if the food is ready too. 

 

What preparations are you making for your Easter weekend?

 





More Snow

We woke up to more snow this morning.  It was still putting it down pretty good when I took these.

 

 

 

There is still something falling this evening.  A mix of rain and snow.  It supposed to do this off and on through Thursday.  It will put moisture in the ground for the plants and crops and hopefully cause the spring flowers to be really pretty and the veggies to sprout and grow.

Spring

According to the calendar, yesterday was the official beginning of spring.

However, you could not tell it by the weather around here. 

It was very cold and it was even snowing for a little while.

Easter is just a little over a week away.

Yet they are still saying we could see more snow Sunday and Monday.

 

(I wish my flower bed looked like this.)

 

Ah, spring...

We will see each other again one day my friend.

 

Catching Up

Hello!  Sorry for the dry spell. 
I accidentally hit my head over the weekend and
let's just say it caused quite a headache. 
However, I do have a couple tips and recipes to share with you today. 

My Grandfather lived by the motto, "waste not, want not." 
A few years ago, my husband was laid off from his job and
things were really tight to say the least. 
Over and over again, in my head, I could hear my Granddad saying...

waste not, want not. 

Thankfully, my husband has a good job now but I still try to live by that motto. 
So, the other day I still had a good amount of corned beef left over from the yummy Reuben sandwiches that I had made for St. Patty's day. 
Was I going to let it go to go bad and waste it? 
Were we going to eat Reuben sandwiches for several days? 
No to both of those.
So what to do with all of that meat...
I made homemade corned beef hash and served it with eggs,

yes for supper. 

There's nothing wrong with having breakfast for supper every now and then. 
I simply diced up half of a small onion, 2 large potatoes and the corned beef.
Then fried it up in a skillet and topped with eggs.

Now, if you like chocolate covered cherries, then you are going to love this. 
When I was mixing up a vanilla cake the other day, I added some maraschino cherries and dark chocolate chips to the batter before baking it.  Simply drain the cherries (about 1/2 - 1 cup) and cut them in halves.  Add the cherries and chocolate chips (1/2 - 1 cup) to your batter.  Stir them in and then bake cake as you normally would.  Once you have removed the cake from the oven, allow to cool and pour a simple powdered sugar glaze over it. 

 

 

I also made some rice pudding which was also yummy.  I do not have a picture of that but I will share the recipe under the recipe tab.  Next time I make it, I will add more of the "pudding" mixture to it but overall, it was very good.

 

What are some recipes that you have created by using the motto...waste not, want not? 

Feel free to share.



Happy St. Patty's Day

Top of the mornin' to ya.

"May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks.
May your heart be as light as a song.
May each day bring you bright, happy hours.
That stay with you all the year long."

Now I'm not one of those who believes in leprechauns and

pots of gold at the end of the rainbow.
However, if I remember, I try to wear something green...that is if I have something.
Remember the days when you were in school, I know it's a long time ago for some of us.
Anyways, if you went to school without some green on you were sure to be pinched!

Whether you have some Irish blood in you or not, this is a holiday that is recognized by many.  I believe there might be a smidgen in my family from my maternal Granddad's side of the family.

 

One way I can remember this day is that it is also my niece's birthday.
"Happy Birthday Katie!  We love you!"

The menu...
In the past, I have made the traditional corn beef brisket with potatoes and cabbage.  Well, I left out the cabbage for my husband's sake.  However, this year I decided to go a more simple route. 

The Reuben Sandwich.

I haven't made them in a long time but we love them.  They are simple but yummy.
Slices of rye bread, corn beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and thousand island dressing.
Assemble and put in a skillet like you would a grilled cheese.
What do you eat on St. Patty's day?

May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind always be at your back
May the sun shine warm on your face
The rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

 

 

Cheeseburger Soup

Yum!  Yum!  Yum!  Yum!  Yum!  Yummy!!!
Got it?  This was very yummy! 
Today, we had been out and about town, and had a late lunch at a Chinese buffet. 
So for supper, we didn't need anything major. 
It had been a cold and rainy day so I decided to try a soup.
Once I had looked at the different recipes...
I decided to do my own thing for the most part. 
Some of the recipes had called for carrots and celery. 
Sorry but when I'm eating a cheeseburger, I'm not even thinking about carrots and celery.
This is a very hardy soup that serves as a meal.   My hubby isn't big on bread but this would be great served with a chunk of toasty Italian or French bread.
Ray and I both really enjoyed it and I will definitely do it again!

Check it out under recipes.

The Best, The Worst, and The Little

This post is in two parts, kind of like a combo deal. 
Since we live in a combo world, I guess it fits.

Part one:
The other day, I over heard a conversation.
The people were talking about their best and worst days.
This morning, my husband and I were talking about it. 
Of course some good natured teasing was involved.
Then on a serious note, I said...
My best day was the day I married him and
My worst day was when I lost our two precious little babies and was told there wasn't much hope of us having children.
He agreed with both of mine.

So, what's your best day?  What's your worst day?

Part two:
The little things...
It seems now a days, that everyone is so busy with work, school, extra curricular activities, hobbies, and of course the never ending housework, laundry and dishes.
Ray works full time and he is back in school working on his next degree. 
I take care of the house, finances, cooking, baking, etc. 
Now, I try to keep my schedule so that I'm free whenever he is home. 
His schedule isn't so flexible and there are days when I feel like I hardly even see him. 
Thankfully, we have been able to spend some quality time together this weekend.  He took the day off on Friday and even though we both had things to attend to, we made time for each other.  Saturday, we didn't do anything special but just having the day together was special enough. 

I can't think of a better way to say it...

"Enjoy the little things in life...
          for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things."

Tacos and more tacos

I don't know about you but I love tacos, Mexican food in general.  Through the years I have made tacos many times but there's just something about eating them in a Mexican restaurant.  They seem to taste better or something. 
I kept coming across a recipe on Pinterest that caught my attention. 
Last night I finally tried it and we loved them...
Baked Tacos
Something about putting all the ingredients together, placing them in the oven, allowing the flavors to blend and the cheese to melt...made it taste authentic.
I did however leave out a key ingredient by mistake, the taco seasoning. 
We both enjoyed them and went back for seconds.  Ray said that I could definitely make them again as long as I didn't leave out the seasoning next time! 

For directions, go under recipes. 
Yummy!

Life...

There are wonderful moments
               full of joy, happiness, peace and contentment.

There are also moments
               of great sorrow, pain, suffering and loss.

It is during these difficult times that we have to stand strong.

Often we do not feel strong during the hard times...
                            but it is the hard times that make us strong.

As a good friend reminded me...
     Do not borrow the pain, sorrow or even the joy 
            that tomorrow might bring,
                   But take it one day at a time.

Now when you are really facing that raging storm in your life, it is hard to take your hand off of the wheel.  Yet, as hard as it may seem, doing exactly that is the best way to survive the storm.

We think we know what is best and how things should be, 
                                             yet who are we...mere grasshoppers.

We do not know what tomorrow may bring...
                        of the joy, happiness, pain or sorrow.

Yet, there is One who knows exactly what is ahead. 
What we will face down the road and how much we can actually handle.

We will survive the ups and downs of life
                                             if we cling to His hand.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Peace will come in the storm...
                         when we let go and give it to Him.

New Recipes

About a week ago, we were invited to a friend's house to eat on a Sunday afternoon.  I wanted to take a dish that could be put in a crockpot.  Those things sure are handy. 

So, I went on-line to search for a recipe.  I came across one that caught my eye. 
It sounded good and I had the ingredients. 

It is Santa Fe Chicken and it turned out good. 

Now, I didn't follow the recipe exactly and so it had a lot more liquid than it should have.   It tasted good, really good but I'm going to share a couple tips to keep the amount of liquid down.  One, make sure your ingredients are completely thawed out and do not add any extra liquid to the recipe. 
Now since mine did have extra liquid, it made me think of soup. 
So I took the leftovers and made soup which was also good. 
This recipe served double duty. 

Another recipe I am sharing, at a friend's request, is my Macaroni and Cheese.  This recipe is a big hit and I normally fix it for company and get-togethers.  You do not want to be on a diet the day you fix this but trust me it is really good.  It makes a large batch so you want a large and deep baking dish.

Check them both out under recipes.

Enjoy!

Do You Have An Accent?

There are many different accents through out the country and the world.  You can normally tell where a person is from by the way they speak.   There's deep southern, southern, northern, western, and Jersey...just to name a few.

My husband had only been home for a few short moments yesterday when he asked...

"Have you talked to your sisters lately?"
 

Now, I should have picked up on the meaning of his question right away but I didn't.  So I proceeded to tell him when I had spoken to them and how they were doing. 

 

Mid way through my speech he says...
 

"I could tell."
 

Then I knew what he had been meaning.

(I had talked to one sister earlier that day)
 

I have never had a strong southern accent, even when I lived in the south. 

However, I did have a slight accent that those who were not from the south could hear. 

 

Living in the north, I have lost the little bit that I had. 

However, according to my husband who has very sharp hearing...

Whenever I'm talking or visiting with my family, I acquire a southern accent.

Just a simple telephone conversation does the trick and I'm completely unaware of it... until he says something.  It goes away quickly but it was there. 

He reminds me, I become conscious of it, and

it goes away...until next time.

 

An accent...it tells where you come from.







Quick Update

A big snow...it was not.
The storm made a late appearance yesterday morning but it came in full force. 
It really had a fighting chance of being the big one. 
The snow was coming down hard and fast. 
Ray faced complete white outs, making the drive to work difficult.
The wind was blowing and the snow was piling up. 
However by mid-day the storm had lost it's force and surrendered.
By the time Ray made it home, the roads were clear.
The yard is still white this morning with a thin layer of snow, however...
It seems the big one has passed us by once again.

Let It Snow...

Let it snow, let it snow...
This song is normally put with Christmas songs but if you look at the words,
it doesn't really have anything to do with Christmas.  
It's a winter song and I've been singing, well thinking, it all winter long!
We have had snow pretty regular.  That is if you count a little coating of snow or flurries.  It has been a normal thing to look out and see flurries. 

BUT we have NOT had a real good, BIG snow. 

Now in my humble opinion if it is going to be cold out, then it should be snowing!

Lots of snow!

Last night, we went to bed thinking there would be a lot of snow on the ground come morning.  However, we were Greatly disappointed. 
They had said we would get several inches of snow during the night with more today.  Now, I know they hardly ever get it right.  However, we were all thinking and hoping this was going to be it.

This is a picture that I just took out our front door...

Yes, we have snow and it is still putting it down...looks like it could do it for awhile.

Will this be the big one?

Now this is what I'm talking about...

 

I believe this was in 2010.  We couldn't even open the front door

Our road and the road adjacent to ours was closed. We were going away for our anniversary. The only way we got out was by following this earth mover out to the main road. There was so much snow, the regular snow plows couldn't handle it.

 

 So, will today's snow be able to compare to this?

Southern Sweet Tea

Down south, there is one thing that everybody knows about and
That is good ole' sweet ice tea.
Growing up this was a regular drink in our house. 
We never called it sweet tea...it was just tea.
Putting lots of sugar in it was the only way to make it and
Un-sweet tea was a serious crime!
One of my cousins shared a recipe with me over the weekend.
Now, the one ingredient did seem a little strange
However, she assured me that it really did make it even better. 
Check out the recipe under, well what else, the recipe tab above.
I added some things under the other categories as well. 
So be sure to check them all out and let me know what you think.