I PLEDGE not to use it anymore

Something practical I found that I thought I'd share!

Dusting my furniture is something I actually enjoy doing, not with my vacuum attachment, but by HAND...yes I am a cleaning JUNKIE...but I hate how regular dusting sprays leave a film on my things so I made it a mission to find something new. I've tried almost everything on the market from Old English to my old stand-by Pledge and nothing really satisfied me and I honestly hated the smell they leave behind, SO I headed to the Internet about 4 months ago to find something organic to use instead.

I stumbled upon this EASY formula and have been using it ever since. It's a simple concoction really; olive oil, lemon juice and water! Go get your little spray bottle and here we go:

- Grab a lemon out of your fridge and squeeze the juice out of it. If you don't happen to have a lemon, then grab a container of lemon juice and pour out about four tablespoons into a small spray bottle. Mix the lemon juice with three tablespoons water and two teaspoons olive oil.
- Put the sprayer in the bottle and shake well. You now have an excellent home furniture polish! No streaking, no chemical smells, no CFC's for our ozone, no dolling over mucho dinero, and the ultimate test...no finger prints!!! Give it a squirt and you'll be a believer!

- Concoction courtesy of Anna Sattler at DIY Life

Old Friends

We were lucky to visit with some old friends, The Simmons Family as they travelled across the country to their new post in Monterrey California. It was such a joy to see how their 2 children had grown! A.J. was just a baby and Vivica a toddler when we lived in NC, and now almost 2 years later A.J. is walking and talking and Vivica is a playful, spunky, energetic, and sweet hearted young lady! Steve and I enjoyed catching up with them over a plate of sour cream chicken enchiladas, pinto beans, saffron rice and rotel dip (of course we didn't pass up this opportunity to serve them a little Mexican food Texas Style) HA! A.J. was in heaven, as he is a fellow Thomas the Train Lover & Vivica shared in Cade's love of our beloved Power Wheels, Grave Digger! We look forward to seeing you guys again in 18 months when Alex finishes up his school there!

Philippians 1:3-6- "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Love You Guys!!!

Menu Monday

Okay all you crock pot lovers out there...pull that baby out and crank her up because have I got a super-duper, yummy & E-A-S-Y crock pot supper for you!

Personally, I fell in love with my crock pot early on in my marriage, like um

....the first year ....

while I was teaching Kindergarten and Steve was in dental school. Now don't get me wrong, I loved my job but some days I would come home worn out with absolutely no initiative to whip up a gourmet dinner for my new hubby! And of course, Steve would always come home starving because they'd been so busy with classes and study groups that he'd hardly had any time for lunch!! How much more simple and convenient can it be than to dump in some ingredients, cover it, turn it to low and Waa-Laa 8 hours later we'd have a hot, tender and delicious meal waiting for us!

BONUS, you ask?

It makes your house smell heavenly!!! So here's my crock pot version of a Southern favorite...Beef Tips!

Crock pot Beef Tips

1 1/2 Lbs. Beef Stew Meat (I buy the extra-trim for less work, and I HATE grizzle)

1 Can French Onion Soup

1 Can Diced Tomatoes, 15 oz.

1 Can Golden Mushroom Soup, undiluted

1/2 C. Sliced Onion, long and thin slices

6 oz. Sliced Fresh Mushrooms

A few twists of fresh ground pepper from your pepper mill

Combine all and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours. When you're ready to serve, combine 1 T. cornstarch with just a little bit of water stirring well to incorporate. Pour into crockpot and stir allow it to thicken the gravy while you prepare your noodles or rice. We serve ours over No-Yolk Broad Egg Noodles, but you can always serve them over white rice too if you'd like. These are so yummy, you'll be drinkin' the gravy outta yer bowl!!!! Happy slurpin' :)

See I told ya I'd eventually get around to posting a supper recipe!

Fun Fridays...My favorite Things

I LOVE PORCH SWINGS.

I'll just say that again, I L-U-U-U-U-V PORCH SWINGS! At every house we've owned since we've been married Steve has always assembled and hung a swing for me. I don't know WHY exactly I love them so much, but there is just something wonderful about them! They evoke a nostalgia in me, because enjoying one recalls the quiet of a FAR less complex era! To me, it's a comforting place that just epitomizes the word HOME.

It's the perfect place to end a long day, to sit and sing hymns to your daughter, to snuggle your son, to work out a disagreement with you hubby, to talk to God, to admire the beauty of my Lord's paintbrush, to be with your family, to sip a tall icy glass of lemonade, to just be quiet, and to listen to nature at night...I could go on and on. It just makes me just slow down I guess...And in today's world I know I need some place to go to slow down. I imagine that the porch preceded the kitchen as the place for us to come together. I suppose you can boil it down to this: I am a simple southern girl, I like simple southern things and the simple joy of a porch swing is something you really have to experience to understand...

My Favorite Place to Be

Conversations with a 3 year old

Mommy- Okay, Cade we're all done cleaning the bathrooms, do you want to help me give Bentley (our dog) a bath?

Cade- Sure Mom, but why does he need a bath?

Mommy- Because he's stinky

Cade- Does he "yike" to be stinky?

Mommy- No, that's why we're giving him a bath...because he gets stinky from playing out in the yard too much

Cade- Will the "wader" wash off the stinky?

Mommy- Uh-Huh, it will

Cade: Do I get stinky from playin' outside too much?

Mommy- Yes, sometimes you do...

Cade- Are you gonna wash off my stinky in the sink too?

Mommy- I might just do that Cade...

Ahhhhh, the musings of three year old boys! Here's a shot of my "water sprayer helper" as he likes to refer to himself and my CLEAN canine. Bentley looks THRILLED to be photographed!!!

Holy Weekend Batman

I had an awesome weekend in Dallas, but now that Monday (I was so tired that I didn't get around to posting this till Tuesday) has rolled around let me just say that:

I AM WORN OUT!!!

My sister is getting married on July the 5th and this weekend my mother in law, a friend and I hosted a lingerie shower for her! We headed north to the Big D on Friday morning and luckily I did all my grocery shopping then! Friday night I prepped most of the dishes I was making so that on Saturday everything would be easy to just pop in the oven and warm. It was a late afternoon shower complete with pink champagne, spinach dip, caramelized onion dip, crab rangoons, phyllo wrapped smoked sausages, raspberry chipotle covered cream cheese, stuffed mushrooms, a cheese and grape platter, and lots of yummy cheesecake bites!!! Everyone had such a great time and it was so nice to just sit and visit with friends and family! Amanda received some really beautiful things, a few fun things, and one CrAzY item complete with it's own keys (use your imagination people!!). I am looking forward to her wedding in just 3 short weeks...God has brought an amazing man into her life and I know that through them and their marriage God will be glorified!!!

And just think sista', you got a whole new wardrobe in one afternoon! Well I take that back, I don't know if ALL of the items would qualify as actual clothing, but...I'll stop there because this site is family friendly :)

Our serving table with YUMMY food

My beautiful sister and I

All the fun gifts

On Sunday morning, my mother in law headed out bright and early on a girl's trip to Mexico so we took Steve's dad out to breakfast at Corner Bakery, which was super yummy! We don't have a Corner Bakery in our neck of the woods so it's always nice to visit some place we don't typically get to go. Then headed to my parent's house to have a Father's Day lunch with my Dad. We stuffed ourselves AGAIN with smoked brisket, beans, coleslaw, baked potatoes and homemade key lime pie! My Dad's favorite!

Gracyn had a tough time napping on Sunday because her teeth were hurting her, so my Dad was kind enough to run and pick her up some orajel. Thanks Papa! She slept like an angel after that. Then before we knew it, it was 5 o'clock and time to head south again. Luckily there was not much traffic on I-35 and we make it home by 7:15 pm. We whisked up some quick supper; ie: cereal and had everyone in jammies and in bed/crib by 8:15. Whew, what a whirlwind!

Since it IS Menu Monday, here's the recipe for one of the appetizers we served at the shower! I've made them several times and they're always gobbled right up! Enjoy

Sun-Dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Appetizers

1 can Pillsbury Golden Layers Buttermilk Biscuits
1/2 C. Mayo
2 oz. Goat Cheese, crumbled
1/4 C. Oil Packed Sun-dried Tomatoes, chopped and well drained
1 t. Dried Onion Flakes
1 t. Pesto Seasoning, dried
1 T. Parmesan Cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Separate dough into 10 biscuits, then separate each into an even 2 layers, making a total of 20 rounds. Press into Pam sprayed mini muffin tin.

In a small bowl, mix mayo, goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, onion flakes, and pesto seasoning. Spoon 1 1/2 t. into each dough lined cup. Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese and bake for 10-16 minutes, till golden. Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving!

Baracudas & B.B.Q

Monday night we were invited to our FIRST EVER arena foodball game! The Dominguez family had tickets to see the Cen-Tex Baracudas and invited us to come along! After meeting up at Clem Mikeska's for some B.B.Q. we headed over to the Expo center for some arena action. Can I just say that arena football is my new favorite sport!! It's fast paced, almost NO time-outs, hardly any penalty calls, AND is usually accompanied by some CrAzY announcer who roams around the stands calling plays and getting people to stand up and dance the macarena (or is that just here in Bell County?)
Anyhoo, the boys loved it and so did the parents! Jonathan broke it down for us during the intermissions (the kid's got rhythm) while Cade and Benjamin played back up with the hand clapping! We had so much fun that by half-time everyone under 4 foot was worn out, and we all headed home to hit the hay! On the way home, Cade announced more than 3X that "it was so much FUN" and that he "wuuuuved the Baracudas!" Thanks for thinking of us Dominguez Family, we look forward to terrorizing the world of arena football with you again soon!!!

Our Cheering Section

Outside the arena...Benjamin lookin' cute, my kid showing

off his farmer's tan!