Just As I Am

mouse wars

Took this little video of the boys with my Flip....a neat little video camera that fits right in my purse. 

Before you watch it, you will want to scroll down to the bottom of the screen and turn off the blog music by hitting the || on the left hand side of the music bar. If it won't click off, right click on it and uncheck "loop" and then try to click on it again.

You can watch the video in full screen mode by clicking on the four arrows to the left of the Vimeo logo in the right hand bottom of the video.  It is not very good quality at that size but it's a larger format.

92 degrees

I can hardly believe it's fall....undaunted by tomorrow's forecast of 92 degrees, Jenna I and made pumpkin shaped sugar cookies today and had fun casually icing them with Wilton Icing Colors in Copper and Moss Green. Speaking of icing sugar cookies, we love Amanda's....aren't they beautiful?

what's cookin'

Jenna and Trey and I spent yesterday in the kitchen preparing our Thursday night meal.
The menu consisted of
Delicious Grilled Chicken
a recipe I saw on
Laura's blog
Asparagus Risotto
a yummy new dish that my sister made when I visited last month
Caesar Salad
 Super Moist Fudge Bundt Cake
 that was featured on
My Kitchen Cafe

an incidental giveaway

There was a time when I enjoyed planning menus, shopping like clockwork every Friday morning at 7:00 am, and preparing meals for my little family of 5. In fact I wrote THIS POST  sharing what I did to give menu planning a little creative flair when I had a young family to care for.

But as our nest became empty this past year, meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking have all been a challenge .  At the outset my intentions were good, but somewhere along the way I got into a menu rut and began to dread spending time in the kitchen.

I either quickly prepared something and "slapped it on the table" or we ate out.

I was unhappy!

I believe it is because my greatest sense of fulfillment comes from serving my family, how many or however few they may be... makes sense, doesn't it?  After all, it's a part of what I was created to do!

A few months ago a young mom introduced me to RELISH, an online menu and recipe subscription. 

Here's how it works.  For just about $7.00 a month, I can choose weekly recipes from a list that is offered, along with a shopping list based on my menu choices.

All I have to do is choose my menu, print out the recipes and shopping list, make a trip to the grocery store, and I am set for 5 days of cooking.

Relish provides a variety of menus from which to pick and codes them according to the categories they fit into.

You can even plug in the number of people you will be serving and the recipe is tweaked accordingly.

I must say, the recipes I have tried have all been very tasty....different enough to be interesting, and several have made it to my "Favorites" list, which is another feature offered.

An additional perk is receiving a newsletter with kitchen tips.

Extras include healthy lunch ideas, a guide to having a fondue dinner, monthly freezer ideas, holiday ideas, etc.  You can also flip back through the recipe archives to find things you haven't tried yet.

Subscriptions to  Relish are offered in 3 month, 6 month, or 1 year time periods.

Now, I am not getting paid to tell you this; I just found it to be a great solution for young and older moms and wives who need a little help.

But when I emailed the folks at RELISH to ask permission to post their logo on my blog, they OFFERED TO GIVE AWAY A 6 MONTH SUBSCRIPTION TO ONE OF YOU!!!

Tell you what, check it out for yourself; click on the Relish picture above and it will take you to their site.

BUT DON'T FORGET TO COME BACK HERE TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!!

So, if you want to try RELISH for 6 MONTHS just leave a comment below and I will have a drawing on January 30th to see who wins.

Here are the rules:

~Must have a valid e-mail address. If you don't have a blog you still may enter...just leave an email address in your comment.
~Only one entry per person.
~This contest will run for 1 week, ending on January 30th, 2009 at 6:00PM(EST).
~To be eligible the comment must be on this original post, not on reminder posts.
~Winner will be chosen by a drawing.

And however you do you choose to accomplish it....

Happy Cooking :)

fun stuff

I love surprise packages, don't you?
So when the mailman dropped a box at my door and rang the bell a few days ago, I wondered what I had ordered and forgotten about.
Well, I didn't order this, but it was for me:

Isn't it the cutest little bag and paper?  I love those bright spring-y colors, and this is what was inside:

a birthday card and this note:

[click on picture to enlarge]

with...........this

Isn't it cute?  We haven't ever exchanged birthday gifts...so this was a fun surprise!
Oh yes, and that is Leah modeling the apron....kind of hard to take a picture of yourself in it : )
Gotta learn that self-portrait stuff.....
Thanks, sister sister....I love you!

And for others of you who called, sent cards, and emails to wish me happy birthday...like this one from Julie...

....thanks...you made my day!

reel tales

This is what we did today...the 3 of us....

No, that's not us...

drove down to Biscayne Bay with fishing poles in tow and threw a line in the water...

here's Leah waiting patiently to catch the big one

Surprise, surprise....yes, I think she's surprised...

He's a little tricky....I think this was the one with teeth...big teeth
kind of like human teeth...really....

Here's the trophy shot....we debated over having it mounted...hee hee

Not to be outdone...John beefs up his bait....live fish

his turn to patiently wait and wait and wait...

Ah ha....here's his catch.....he wants me to tell you
it was much bigger than it looks here....can't you
tell? uh hum....
Just between you and me, I think the bait fish was
bigger than this....

We ended up throwing them all back...you know...
in honor of...be kind to pelican's day or something
like that

Happy St Pat's

Yes, we do act silly at our home once in a while...and it gives me a chance to practice my photography skills : )  I take anything I can get : )
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Eat lots of corned beef and cabbage tomorrow...
Debi

pretty sunday

 

I snapped this picture as we were on our way out to church this morning.  It has been a delight to have Katy and her friend Megan visit us this week...the time has been much too short though...

today

John, and Leah, and I got up very early and drove 2.5 hours to see my nephew, Daniel, who travels throughout the US with Life Action Ministries.  It was a great day....hearing Truth from Ezekiel 37...

eating lunch at Carrabba's Italian Grill, and catching up on Daniel's life on the road, as he manages the 20 member team.