If you do stuff, stuff gets done.......

If you do stuff, stuff gets done.......

Friday, September 12, 2014

Highlights and low spots from the last 3 weekends

I did not mean to take such a long blogging break. 
3 weekends ago, we had a big group here for a meal - I think there were 16 of us. 
The main course was make your own taco salads. 
The day before, I cooked a Dutch oven full of seasoned ground beef. We also had Ranch style beans, tortilla chips, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, assorted salsas, grated cheese and sour cream. 
This menu was easy and a crowd pleaser. This is son Bobby showing his Taco Salad. 
The 2 oldest grands were just amazed at how large some of the adults made their salads. They were giggling as they described the big salads as volcanos with lava on top and running down the sides. 

This is a silly selfie that I took in the bathroom after Andie took a bath - I love this little sweetie! 


2 weekends ago, I went to my parents house with my husband and son Jimmy.  We visited and I did a little cooking and we all cleaned out some more storage spots. 




1 weekend ago, my husband and I were out to do a couple errands. We were traveling south on a 4 lane road. Another driver was going north on this same road. Then she decided to turn west and she turned right in front of us. My husband tried to stop but it happened so fast and we collided. 
That's our car- a 2014 Juke with 6000 miles- 
Both our airbags deployed and that is an experience I hope I never have again.
This is the other drivers car. Her daughter was in that car seat during the collision. They were both unhurt except for a cut on the little girls head where the broken window glass blew in on her. 
I still can't believe this young mother was so reckless to turn her car into ongoing traffic, especially on the side where her daughter was.  
If my husband had not braked as much as he did, we would of collided where the child was and I think she would of had much worse injuries. I am so thankful it was not as bad as it could of been. 


The airbag deployment hit me hard. I went to the ER and was Xrayed. Nothing is broke or fractured but  I have acute sternal contusions - meaning deep bruising that still has me sore and doing everything a lot slower. 

The mother was ticketed and we all have insurance so all the vehicles will get repaired or replaced.
I just hope when she is back behind the wheel that she drives a lot more cautiously. 




And a funny for you - those grandchildren sure get old fast, don't they? 


I'll be back blogging but it may be awhile....... 

Thursday, August 21, 2014

2 simple projects

Both of these projects took only minutes to make and were made with supplies on hand, 
Most of the meals here are served buffet style. I did recently fix a utensil holder for the dining table and I also wanted one to keep on the kitchen counter.
I made this one with 4 recycled fruit cans, some spray paint and jute twine. After I lashed the painted cans together, I reinforced each spot where the cans meet with a dab of E6000 glue.
It doesn't take up much room at all but will be handy.

The front door wreath was 7 years old (silk hydrangeas from my daughters wedding) and they were just faded and tired looking. So I pulled them all off and covered the styrofoam wreath form with strips of black and white check fabric. 
I used my Cricut to cut out the HELLO pendants and strung them together with some jewelry size twine. 
The whole front door.....I am really happy with this quick fix.  ( except for those weeds but it is too hot to pull them)  This should be good until is time to change to Autumn things. 



And one more  photo of the front yard zinnias.......

Hope you are all having a good Thursday

Monday, August 18, 2014

Do Stuff Monday #4

Whats on my to-do list this week? Not many chores as I am in the middle of an unusual grands here everyday and staying with me stretch of days. I enjoy the grands so much and I know these days will not last much longer so I am adjusting my homekeeping things.
I did quite a few things Sunday evening - all the laundry, changed sheets, grocery shopped, etc- that I would normally do during the week. 
I also cleaned the floors and one bathroom before my grandson got here this morning.

My husband grocery shopped with me yesterday at Aldi and we bought quite a bit of fresh produce.
I want to be sure and use them all so just to keep myself reminded, I wrote down the ingredients that I need to incorporate in meals this week. 

Supper tonight will be   Crispy Chicken Tenders with this new recipe that I made last week to use some the rice crispy cereal that I also used in those yummy granola bars. Also the last of the French bread, watermelon, and green beans. 


My grandson and I have already done the errands. He is happy riding in the shopping cart and so many other shoppers talk to him and comment on his curly hair. 

We stopped at Dollar Tree and got more Bacos that my husband requested.
Walmart - dill relish in a giant squeeze bottle. My husband and son are dill relish fans and I think they will very pleased to see it in a squeeze bottle instead of the tiny jars I have always bought it in before.
Also bought at Walmart, a 4 quart crockpot. 

Hobby lobby - some the jewelry things were 50% off and I got some narrow natural cord to make a bracelet I've pinned.  Also a storage box that I used a 40% off coupon. 



I got all these beads and jewelry supplies from my mom. I hope to do some beading this week but it may wait till next week.


In case you want to laugh at my gardening adventures, here are the assortment of tomatoes picked last night. 
I think I might of grown the worlds tiniest tomato- maybe I should contact the Guiness book of records people......

My shopping helper is napping now. But before I worked on this blog post, I cleaned the hall bathroom and fixed the breading for tonight's chicken.
I love this little quilt. It is the last piece of patchwork my grandmother sewed. 


Hope you are all having a good Monday.

If you do stuff, stuff gets done! 

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Coupons and shopping

I have been using this small organizer for coupons for several years and liked it OK 
Except long coupons would not fit in it without extra trimming or folding. 

During the clean-out at my parents, we found 2 organizers just like my old coupon holder but longer. 
Mom did not want them but my dad wanted 1 and I kept the other. 
It is roomier and easier to look through the coupons in it.
And it is small enough to fit in my purse! 



Speaking of coupon shopping, we didn't have a very long shopping list so I bought everything at Walmart. 
The best deals were the GoGoSqueez-$1.98 minus a $1 coupon on each. All my grands like them.
Almay face wipes were $5.24 minus $4 coupon on each


Grapes were 88 cents a pound. 
Cilantro is for homemade salsa thus weekend

This ultra-pasteurized milk costs more than regular milk but it also stays fresh a lot longer. 
Unless my grands are here for a long time, milk usually sours before we finish a carton. 
So I am hoping this milk might save us money in the long run. 
See that date? Almost 2 months away?


My register tape - lots of coupon deductions! 

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Peaches.......

There is no fruit quite as good as Arkansas peaches picked ripe straight from the tree.
My parents and my inlaws all shop at this Farmers Market in Texarkana, Arkansas. They buy lots of produce there like okra, tomatoes and squash. Peaches are the favorite though.


My brother is a peach fan too. He bought these 2 cartons Saturday morning to take back to his home in Oklahoma. 
I should of put something beside these peaches to show their actual size. They are much bigger than grocery store peaches, closer to the size of grapefruits.



My family has always prized fresh picked peaches. This photo is from around 1987 or so. 
My mom and her mom are sitting beside the peaches they just picked in Arkansas. 
Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Jarvis were also here for this harvest.
Home canned peaches are good but we always preferred to preserve ours by  freezing. Just peel the fresh ripe peaches, take out the stone and slice them. Mix with a little Fruit Fresh to prevent browning and sugar as desired then freeze in whatever size containers you choose. 
Peaches on the tree, ripe to harvest. 


This photo is so funny to me. 
The brown sacks contain some kind of produce that my aunt, uncle and grandmother bought and who knows what is in the ice chests. You can see their peaches in the white boxes. Everything is spread out in my parents driveway while Uncle Jarvis tries to load it in his car trunk, under Grandma's supervision. 

This afternoon, I peeled and sliced what was left of the peaches I brought back from Arkansas. They were so sweet, I didn't add any sugar before I froze them.