Wordless Wednesday

-- Post From My iPhone

Band Geeks--UNITE!!

Tonight we went to the Beginning Band Spring Concert and Awards Presentation. Much fun was had by all. The Liver Lip had participated in Solo and Ensemble competition last week and received a superior on her solo and on her duet with "Miss Snoopy" accompanying her on trumpet. Here are some pics!

The grand entrance...

Medal handout...

Pack up your junk to go....

Slam into a music stand with your french horn and make it come crashing down on your departure, because you are your mother's daughter for sure...

Liver Lip and Snoopy...


Congratulations Girls!!

Menu Plan Monday--4/27/09

I luckily had a little time at work this weekend to get this planned out on paper. We never managed to get the Shrimp and Grits done from last week, so that got bumped to tonight.
Luckily that makes me not have to grocery shop until tomorrow --which is good since my work schedule is crazy this week and I got absolutely zero sleep yesterday. Easy food for Tuesday since I will have worked the night before. Anyway, here it is. All low carb and a recipe or two to boot.

• Monday--Shrimp and Grits (mashed cauliflower subbing for the grits) with Spinach Salad
• Tuesday--Crockpot Pot Roast with Turnips and Green Bean Salad (the turnips peeled and cut up in crockpot in lieu of potatoes)
• Wednesday--Tangerine Up the Butt Chicken (recipe below) and Grilled Broccoli Salad (recipe below)
• Thursday--Grill Basket Lamb Kebabs with Grilled Summer Squash and Mushrooms (cut up a boneless lamb roast into cubes and marinade all day in ziplock bag. Cook on grill in grill basket to skip all the skewering)
• Friday--Portabello Mushroom Pizzas (top lg portabellos with pizza topping and bake...delish!)
• Saturday--Turkey Legs and Yard-long beers at Tennessee Renaissance Festival --it is the first weekend and kids and grandparents get in free!!

Orange-Tangerine Up the Butt Chicken
--from The Low Carb BBQ Book by Dana Carpenter
1 whole roasting chicken (3-4 lbs)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp splenda
1 drop blackstrap molasses
1 tsp chili powder
3 tbsp low sugar orange marmalade
1 can Diet Rite tangerine soda (wash that can!!)
2-3 tbsp oil
1 tsp spicy brown mustard

Light one side of gas grill. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Combine salt, splenda, molasses and chili powder in small bowl. Reserve half the mixture and rub the other half inside the cavity of the chicken.
Stir the marmalade into the reserved seasoning mixture. Open can of soda and pour out 2/3 cup. Add 1/4 of the cup that you poured off into the seasoning mixture and then drink the rest that you poured off.
Punch several more holes in the top of the soda can with a can opener. Spray the can with cooking spray and set it in a shallow baking pan. Carefully place your chicken down over the can, fitting the can into the cavity of the chicken. Rub down the chicken with olive oil.
Set your chicken, standing upright on the soda can on the side of the grill not over the fire. Close the grill and cook at 250degrees for 75-90 minutes or until juices run clear.
While chicken is roasting, add mustard to marmalade seasoning mixture. Use this to baste chicken with for the last 20 minutes or so.

Grilled Broccoli Salad
--Low Carb BBQ Book by Dana Carpenter
1 head fresh broccoli
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
4 tbsp sesame seeds

Trim bottom of broccoli head and separate into large spears. Brush with a bit of olive oil and grill over medium fire until flecked with brown spots. Remove from fire.
Pt broccoli in a bowl and add rest of oil, vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil. Stir it all up and let set for a half hour.
Meanwhile, toast your sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium flame until they start to make a popping sound. Add to salad and toss to combine. Serve at room temp.

I had posted the Cauliflower recipe I will use tonight previously here.
Enjoy!!

Unveiling the New Play Kichen

My baby girl, until today, had my 20 something year old sister's hand me down play kitchen. Her big sister and brother had it before her...well, her big brother liked tractors better, but you get the point. Vintage Fisher Price with the original toaster and everything. See....

There is nothing actually wrong with this kitchen....except that I LOATHE it. I never liked it when we had it out 10 years ago and I dont like it now. It is an "in the round" type kitchen for lack of a better description. All that means is that it has to sit smack in the middle of the floor if you want to play sink AND stove. All the doors perpetually hang open and nothing fits inside it. I have a big ugly rubbermaid box next to it to hold all the accessories and that is just tacky. It is sitting in our living room for heaven's sake....along with 10 million other things so another rubbermaid box is the last thing we need.
So, last week I was inspired by some kitchens I saw here. I would be more specific, but there were many, many inspirations--mostly ones based off Ikea shelving and found objects. Do a search and you will see many. May I also say that I have an unnatural love for that website. Beautiful ideas abound so check it out.
Anyway, I decided we could do this on the cheap and have something I dont mind walking past when I head to the living room. We were standing in the basement and I drew a little plan on some scrap paper and put measurements of the approximate size I wanted. We stood there and figured out how much wood we would need and headed to Lowes.
In the end we spent $22 on two MDF stair tread things for the sides, a piece of pegboard for the back--both revisions (improvements) of my plan by the dude who has to build the thing--and a clearance handle that turned into a towel rack. I went to Michael's and Walmart the next day and got all the little odds and ends that I wanted for the top (I had a vision, dontcha know) and the baskets for storage. That I think was about $30 with the baskets. The butcher block counter top was a scrap from my parent's new kitchen.
It was definitely a joint project. Chris was responsible for the structure of the thing, shelf building, etc. I did the sanding and painting, designed all the little knobs and burners and actually ended up making the faucet and knobs since I couldnt find a real faucet anywhere for less than $30. Oh, and I made the curtain too. I was going all black except the countertop, but Chris suggested the red back--good choice. I love it. The fabric that I had mentioned earlier turned out as adorable as I had hoped. Here is hoping it stays in place.
This is the NEW kitchen...

The top of it with all the knobs and gadgets looks like this...

All the accessories are now organized into cutie little baskets instead of big ugly plastic...

And then everything fits INSIDE the kitchen and behind the cute little curtain...

I am very, very happy with it. I have some more pegboard hooks I am painting for the back and I am making her an apron and a couple pot holders to match the curtain but other than that, this project is FINIS!! Total price a hair under $60. If you click on the pics it will take you to Flickr and you can see lots more of the pictures.
Now, oh sister of mine, what do you want me to do with YOUR kitchen?!

Wednesday--It's the Hillbilly Sabbath

We set off this morning with a plan to get some tires fixed for our big tractor mower deck. Off we go into Ashland City to the tire shop across the street from the Tractor Supply. Easy peasy, right? Now, you know better than that....

First, the tire shop can do it, but they only have 2 tubes and we have 4 tires. Hey, no problem...we will run over to Tractor Supply and get two more tubes and bring them back. Off we go.......

So, we get back to said tire shop with our two tubes to add to the first two tubes and it seems he decides that he cant do this for us after all. Some machine problem that I care nothing about, blah, blah, blah. Now I still have 4 tires and 2 tubes and that is crap.

Some other guy in the tire shop says, "Hey, there is a small engine repair shop in Pleasant View....they could fix those for ya!" We say, "why thank you helpful man...ever so much". We hop in the car and decide that is the ticket. We will go to "the engine shop" in "Pleasant View". Pleasant View is like 10 minutes from where we are....no problem. It's all good. Off we go.......

We are now on 49 headed in the right direction and Chris says, "get us a map". I, being a proud member of the iphone club, whip out my little 3G dream and Google us up. It seems "the engine shop" is not in Pleasant View after all, it is in Chapmansboro. Chris's immediate reaction to this news was "oh no...".

To get to Chapmansboro you go exactly half way between Ashland City and Pleasant View, take a left and drive until you die of old age. It is right next door to Bumblebee Egypt. So, with directions in ipod, me now completely wanting to vomit from carsickness, lack of breakfast and looking at the "map", off we go.......

We drive and drive and drive up hills and down hills. Over the river, through the woods. The creepy Deliverance banjo music is about to deafen us (this is actually a lie...it is really lovely and some of the homes are gorgeous, but did I mention my nausea...I was not feeling it at the time). So, like 700 million miles into this journey, led entirely by google maps (may they rot in hell) we nonchalantly speed buy a sign that says "road closed ahead"...."surely they dont mean this road, right?" No, wrong...DETOUR!! So, we take a left and off we go......

We now have no idea where we are, just that we are going left and that that is the general direction the road is that we are looking for. Google Maps has now decided we are too far gone to even deal with and has quit us completely. We actually find it eventually, take a left, turn around because it was really right and continue on. (Yea, yea...off we go....)

So, finally, at long last we come to "the engine shop" and we find this...

Now, in case you cant see this clearly, the sign above the second office sign says "We are Closed" and the white, handwritten sign in the right hand window...my favorite...says "Closed on Wednesdays". There are also about 50 more signs telling me how to act, but they werent there to enforce any of them because---wait for it---they are "CLOSED ON WEDNESDAYS". Apparently that is a theme is Cheatham County--you can also not go to the dump on Wednesdays because they too are "CLOSED ON WEDNESDAYS".

So, we are 5 zillion miles from home, food and civilization now and still have 4 flat tires and 2 tubes which still equals crap. We backtrack through this endless maze and decide enroute that the way to go is to take the tubes back to Tractor Supply and buy 4 new solid rubber tires so we never have to deal with this mess again. Yes, they are too expensive and yes, I am now half dead of starvation and overwhelming vomitatiousness and I don't really give a crap. Just buy them already!! He tries to, but they dont fit our mower so he buys 2 more tubes. We now have 4 tubes and 4 flat tires and go get Chinese food. Then we go home and super-husband somehow fixes all the tires with a screwdriver and an air compressor--dont ask me how, but they are fixed.

The End. Oh wait, and I got new neighbors today...add that to my list of complaints.

~FINIS~

Cool Stuff!!

Play Kitchen Accessories, originally uploaded by Rowetopia.

Cariboo and I went looking for a couple things this morning and came back with this stuff. Very colorful and very cute. If we ever finish this kitchen project, she will be very stylish. I am trying to find non-plastic food items for her kitchen, which is slightly difficult. Those plates are bamboo, the bowl and spoon are wood, the potholder is loom made by the big sister (and not for this...mommy has been using it for years) but this tea set, however....not so much organic. More like totally cheapo plastic and probably toxic just to look at it. She was in love though...

I am glad for the nice organic-ish-ness of it (yes, I made that word up) because two seconds after we got in the car she tried to chew the end off.
Dont ask me. She is waaaay too old to be teething....just being annoying I think.

And the whole time I was piling this stuff here to take the picture, she was trying to steal the teapot to pour "tea" into the other glass.

She is the bad seed, but she sure is cute.

Also, I had to have this. How could I resist for $4.

It leans...Waahaahaaa.

Menu Plan Monday-4/40/09

I think I am going to attempt to do this. It makes my grocery shopping much easier and I buy way less expensive extras. Maybe next week I will get it done in a more timely fashion. This is an ongoing event over at the Organizing Junkie blog.

Monday-BBQ Chicken and Stir Fried Cabbage
Tuesday--Peperoncini Pot roast (yes, I checked that spelling!)*
Wednesday--Tuna Casserole made w/Dreamfields pasta and roasted Broccoli
Thursday--BBQ Ribs and Grilled Asparagus
Friday--Scampi Shrimp and Mashed Cauliflower (posing as grits) and a spinach salad

*Italian Beef (thank you Christy L.)
1 pot roast
1 packet onion soup mix
1 jar peperoncinis with juice
Pile it all in the crockpot and cook for 8 hours.
Delicious.

Thirsty Chickens

When I woke today, they had drank all their water. This is after the fill up.



-- Post From My iPhone

Springtime at Centennial Park

First off, Happy Birthday MOM!!
Second, the weather was beautiful today so after a couple little errands we hit the park. Centennial Park is in the middle of Nashville and is a very fabulous place to hang out in the lovely spring time. Also, home of the awesome Parthenon--which makes me very happy just being around it. I love that thing.
Here are a big bunch of pictures we took with my phone today so you can enjoy it almost as much as the Baby Girl and I did.

We were hungry so we started with a blanket and some Wendy's nuggets.

Tiptoe through the tulips...

The maze hedge...

Self portraits...dont ask me why i am trying to look all gangsa in the first one. It was an accident...



Pics on the Parthenon..





Did I mention I love this thing. I mean how cool is that place?!

Obligatory visit to the train--she hated it...


Cool cave of bushes...

And finally, all pooped out on the swing.

Click on any of these and it takes you to our flickr photostream where there is more...as if there werent enough on here for you!!
Anyway, woot woot for springtime in TN.

New Project Supplies!!

This is the new fabric for an upcoming project that I think is super cute.

The stripe is Michael Miller and the horses are some imported something something by Kokka--a Japanese fabric. I have never heard of them, but the fabric lady was all enamored with them and Cariboo (Baby Girl) picked it out. They arent really meant to go together, but i think they do so they will!! If Chris does his part and gets my project started this weekend, I will post more pics later. It is going to be soooo cute.

Rant of the Day

Rant of the day.
I do not like to see a person wearing scrubs that is not a doctor or nurse. It makes me very irritated. Especially when their scrubs are grimy and need to be washed. As a nurse, I think this is a personal affront to me--yes, me personally. They did it on pupose just to bug me, I just know it!! Dental hygienists and veterinary assistants get a pass, but nobody else...and their scrubs should have teeth or dogs on them.
Rant complete.

Hot oil massage for your face!!

4/22/2009 I am adding this to the Works For Me Wednesday list--even though I posted it LAST Wednesday. That counts right. Well, here it is anyway. I will do better next week. It seems Earth Day appropriate. Happy Earth Day!

I happened upon this ages ago at a blog I used to look at all the time but that doesnt exist anymore. Strangely, I found this archive of the original, so I thought I would share it here.

When I first read this I got sucked in because I have oily skin and it seemed nuts--I love to try out things that sound nuts. I have been washing my face exclusively with straight extra virgin olive oil for well over a month now and it is working fabulously. I havent put any soap on my face this entire time. I think I am turning Italian and I look just like Sophia Loren now. Okay, that's a lie, but I have no zits and I havent put any soapy chemicals on my face at all. I have to get some points for that.
This is how I am doing it:
1. Turn on the hot water...wasteful I know but you want it really hot.
2. Put about 1 tsp or a bit more in my hand and then massage all over your face. Pay particular attention to oily spots just like you would with any face wash. Dont be scrimpy...if you have a big fat face, embrace it and use more oil. To much is better than too little. Rub it in for about a full minute-ish.
3. Take a nice nubby washcloth and run it under the HOT water. Wring it out and lay the washcloth over your face. (Some people advocate the zen approach here and want you to steam yourself like you are getting a facial. I have ZERO patience so I stand there with it on my face as long as I can stand it. The idea is to open your pores with the steam. I usually last about 20 seconds tops.)
4. Take that same washcloth and scrub the living crap out of your face.
5. Dry off and you are done.

So, after I had been doing this with good results for several weeks, I suckered my poor daughter into trying it. She is 12 and has the most sensitive skin of anyone in our entire family. You never know what is going to break her out...no rhyme or reason to it. I have a friend who took her to one of those Diva Kid Party places...she called me in a panic on the way home because my poor kid's whole face was red and puffy and swollen. Gotta love some Benadryl. Anyway, I was just thinking that if this would work for her it would be much less irritating to her skin.
The first time I hauled her in the bathroom to try it I thought she was going to have a panic attack. She was horrified. She has since done it everyday on her own. Her face isnt completely blemish free, but it is better and she is much more thorough with it because no soap in the eyes and splashing water, etc. And after all, she is 12...blemish free is alot to ask at that age.
I have also read in that post above and elsewhere that adding some castor oil to the olive oil has drying effects, so would be good for oily skin. I am going to get some of that to add to my daughter's and see if that does better for her. I will let you know. One way or the other, though, we are converts.

Pets We Love!--REVISITED!!

Here are the new additions.


See the whole story and more pictures HERE or click on a photo for the whole photostream.

These are the Spring Chickens!!

We had a very early 5:30am wakeup call from the local post office this morning begging us to hurry up and come and get our chickens. Apparently 15 chickens chirping in your ear while you are trying to sort mail is not a good thing. So, once we prepped for the TCAP by mom actually making the kiddos something to eat this morning, we headed off to collect some chicks.
When you order chicks in the mail, it is assumed that you will check that they all arrived alive in the presence of the post office people. I have never had this be an issue, but we did take a peek once we got back in the car. Arent they cute?

Then after some kid drop-off, I headed to the Co-op for some Starter Feed...no prep work for me, obviously. They were out of the 25 pound bags and offered me a 50 pound bag. That is waaaaaay to much, but the guy was nice enough to go get me a lunch sack full of feed from the back room for free to tide me over until tomorrow when they get more in. Very nice of him--so that is why i mention it. Shout out to that guy.
Anywhoo, this is the box and supplies needed for this little chick extravaganza.


These guys are very low maintenance. They require a little food, a little water and a warm light. That is about it other than a giant rubbermaid box.

Once we got home and got counting, we realized that the 15 we ordered had become 18.

Apparently it is cold in Missouri and they added a few freebies to help keep them warm--lovely. My buddy Heather is going to take 7 of them, but that leaves me several more than I planned. We have plenty of room in the big coop, but I hope everyone I know likes eggs. Come late summer we will be swimming in a sea of eggs. Start saving your egg cartons now, please...

The best peanut butter ever

This stuff...

...it is a kind of extra special awesome that I cant even explain to you. If you see it, buy it. You wont be sorry. You dont need bread. This is for low carb spoon eating right out of the pantry. Only 3 carbs in 2 tbsp. Yummy!

Sewing...all day long

I managed to get a lot accomplished today for some reason. I dont understand how some days I get absolutely nothing done the entire day and then other days I just knock things out left and right. We even managed to fit in a nice outdoor Mexican food lunch in the middle of the day. The kids were off all day and actually entertained themselves. The Wii is broken and sent off to Nintendo, so they are actually "playing" if you can believe it.
Anyway, first thing today was finish Chris's pants for Ren-fest. This involved a bias tape maker for the ties and lots of threading through casings...

Next, I made some quicky black pants for Baby Boy's costume and finished the Liver lip's reversible corsety thing for her costume. I think i covered both in this picture. The pants still need hemmed and so does the pink shirt, but that didnt happen today.

Here you can see what it reverses to since it isnt visible in the hanging photo. I am trying to make some multipurpose pieces. Since you cant see the back, the two sides dont have to match at all. She shirt matches both sides and i am going to make her a brown skirt to go with the other brocadey print.

Then, since I am trying to use up some of this random fabric that is cluttering up my laundry room, I made these pajama pants for the bacon fiend in the house. They are too big, but I am too lazy to fool with making them smaller. They have a drawstring...she hasnt complained so I am pretending I dont notice. And for God's sake, dont look at her bedroom...

It is cute Michael Miller flannel fabric with bacon and eggs.

Finally, the Baby Girl got this super nice crown-ladyish (per her) hair do.

So, to go with the do, she got these pants. They arent supposed to go with this shirt. The shirt they go with is cut out but not made. That is as far as I got with it today...maybe tomorrow. She tried them on and then was wanting to pose for lots of pictures. Far be it from me to deny her...


See that laundry basket up there in that last picture...that was the rest of my day. I hate laundry.