Keep Calm......

Saturday Morning Breakfast

This morning I woke up craving a childhood favorite breakfast. In my house we called these Gas House Eggs.

 Since I Don't Have A Round Cookie Cutter, I Used A Glass To Cut The Circle out Of The Middle Of The Bread! 

I 

I am addicted to this California Blend Garlic Powder!!

It's delicious! I very rarely ever cook anything without it.

 

And of course, no breakfast is complete without a cup of my favorite Joe or O.J.

 

Have you ever cooked up this yummy breakfast?!

If so, what does your family call it?

 

Keep Calm

This is my newest ATC (artist trading card)! I signed up for a swap that requires my favorite 'Keep Calm and....' quote. This one just seemed appropriate!!

Tom Petty!

We are off for a fun weekend of camping with my sis and brother-in-law and enjoying the musical talents of the amazing Mr. Tom Petty!!!
Can you see the sheer joy in our faces?!
I'm STOKED!!!

Strawberry Jam!!

It all started with this:  

You'll need a box of Sure-jell, Fruit Pectin.

I just followed the instructions in the Sure-jell package. I made the "freezer" kind. I wanted something I didn't have to "CAN" but that I could eat right away and gift right away! First, you smash, or in my case, use a blender/magic bullet to blend up your berries. Jam has fruit bits in it, so be sure to not puree your berries!  

 Once I had the right amount (2 cups) of smashed berries, I mixed in the sugar (4 cups). Once the two are mixed together, let it sit for about ten minutes. Stir it occasionally!  

When the ten minutes is almost up, I mix the bag of Pectin with water (3/4 cup) and bring it to a boil, constantly stirring.  

When it comes to a full boil, stir while boiling for 2 minutes.  

Take the Pectin mixture off the heat and stir it into the berry/sugar mixture. Stir until no sugar crystals remain. Pour the new jam into jelly jars and screw the lids on! (Ignore the Bullet cup in the background! I blended up too many berries....and made myself a smoothie!!)

Once your lids are in place, set the jars on the counter for 24 hours before freezing or putting in the refrigerator. This is super important as it allows the Pectin to settle and form the delicious jam!  

Last but not least....ENJOY!!! It's DELICOUS!! (Even just right out of the jar....uh, I mean, someone told me that!!) Next time, I want to try some with fresh peaches too!! YUM! Have you made jam? Have any tips for next go around?! I've made three batches so far this year!

My strawberry patch has been providing me with lots and lots of delicious berries this year! So many in fact, that I have been using them on EVERYTHING! We have had them atop pumpkin roll, ice cream, salad, cereal, just plain in a bowl and I've been making jam! Sweet, delicious jam. I am trying something new and will be attempting to post from my Mobile phone! Check back this weekend as I will be posting and sharing my Strawberry Jam making process! It's delicious!!

Chicken Tacos!

http://mychocolatetherapy.blogspot.com/2012/01/crockpot-chicken-tacos.html Check out this blog and recipe!! We made these last weekend and they are DELICIOUS!!! Sorry the pic isn't showing up...I can't seem to figure out how to post the link w/ the picture showing!

Happy Halloween!

To keep things fun in the office on Halloween Tammy and I decided to dress in costume for work!

Tammy (the bill collector) needs a sign on her office window that reads

"The Witch is IN"!

I just got back from a "running" trip to Spain!

New Hair Cut!

Okay, so I got a new hair cut last week and Tammy was nice enough to take before and after pictures at work for me! (I got it cut over my long lunch break from work!)
Here is the before:

And....here is the after!

I was talking to Megan on the phone while she was taking pics!

And this one I was paying attention for!!

The livingroom Make-Over

So, we had enough with our super worn out carpet and decided it was time for the living room to get a face-lift!

This shows our disgusting, dull, thin carpet and laminate that was in front of the doorway.

 You can see our tester pain between the window and doorway.  I chose the colors based on a pair of my favorite ceramic candlesticks.

 We were THRILLED that our flooring arrived an entire week early.  The original plan was for me to do a yard sale in the front yard while Kevin laid the flooring down but since it was here an entire week early we got right to work (and he was helpful at the yard sale!).  It was a win-win for the both of us since we could help each other out!

 Once we had the walls painted and the carpet ripped up, the girls tried out the bare floor....
And, since our lives revolve around these gorgeous girls, it only seems appropriate that I throw in a picture of them too.

 The first two planks are down....SUPER EXCITING!!  Once we had it ordered, I couldn't think about anything else.  I carried the sample around with me and showed EVERYONE who would take a look!  I hear "it's the simple things" that makes all the difference in the world!

 Here is Kevin, diligently at work....

 Once we had it all laid out, the girls had to take another turn around the room, smelling and leaving hair remnants as proof that this is "their" house!

 HERE IT IS........IT'S BEAUTIFUL!!!  We LOVE it!

 I was so excited about the flooring I almost forgot to add some pics of the paint.  We are so happy to be rid of this awful pinkish-beige color from the living room.  The entire house was painted that color when I moved in.

A trip to the Hills with the Girls....

I've been terrible at blogging...the sunshine keeps dragging me outside!!  

I had the Wonderful pleasure of meeting up with some girl-friends on mine from college for a weekend get-a-way to a cabin in the Hills of Hocking County.  Erin and I (of course) stopped by thee ole' mother-ship (aka-trailer we rented in college) and seemed to find it in worse shape than we had expected.  Although, we did live there ten years ago!

 

And, of course a trip to Nelsonville is NEVER complete without a trip to The Mine Tavern.  I was a bartender here so it was super fun to go back and see how things have not changed there...not even the locals!  I was shocked to walk in and find old friends tending bar-last time I was there...I was serving them alcohol.

 

After our quick stop at the Mine, we headed on down the rainy, curvy roads that lead us to the cabin.  The rainbow had both of us girls excited since it was a "sure sign" we were going to have a great time!

We of course were so excited to see each other that we didn't take any pictures and instead cooked a wonderful lasagna dinner, caught up with what we have all been doing the past ten years and enjoyed our girls night out!

It's crazy how so much can change but how so much still stays the same!
I had a blast catching up on old times and reminiscing with long lost friends.

A visit from the Curtis's

Ken and Erin

We just could have a visit without taking them to our favorite spot...Johnny V's in J-town!  Great People, Great Food and Beer!!

Erin & Me

We have been the best of friends....14 years!

LOVE this girl!

 This night we spent with friends and neighbors or ours, Justin and Courtney!  Here the boys are, posing in the midst of a very serious game of Catch Phrase!  You can see below how fierce the competition was!

 And-of course and night with Erin and Kevin includes an argument on who has the best taste in music!

 And...definitely not complete without a dance off!

It was great seeing you guys!  Come visit any time you like!!

Okay, so on my way home from work every day I pass this little church that always has cute saying on their board outside with service times.

The sign this week reads like this:

Aspire to Inspire

Before You Expire

All week I've been driving by this sign and thinking back and trying to find a recent moment in my life where I have Inspired someone.  Today......I figured it out.

If you have been to our house you have seen the Meadows Apartments on the cross street of our street.  Earlier this summer, we met a gentleman who lives there, single, with his two little boys.  The boys are probably btwn the ages of 5-8.  He has been watching me plant trees, flower and a garden in my yard and I noticed one night as I was tending to my trees he was crossing the street.  He introduced himself and asked if I worked for the Utility dept. since I was using the flag markers as my tree markers.  The Utility companies had been by the week prior to mark the lines on where I could and could not dig.  Since I had figured out where I could dig, I pulled up the flags and used them as my markers as to where I was going to plant my five trees!  I stood there and talked to him about planting and gardening and about how I just got a Horticulture job at the Louisville Zoo (and of course, like a lot of other folks, had to explain to him what "Horticulture" was).

The next weekend, I noticed he was out with his two little boys, tilling up the little bit of yard they have (apartment living) and planting tiny little vegetable plants.  When he sees me out watering or tending to my garden and plants, he comes out with the boys and tends to his garden.  This has been a pretty constant happening.  I know when I get my gloves on and my water canteen filled up that I'll be greeted by two little smiling faces and shouts of joy across the street as to what they have grown and how big it is compared to a couple days ago.  Pretty cute to see them so happy.

So, I was out this afternoon and watering my trees when I see them pull in the parking lot, bags of groceries in their hands.  They all yell their Hello's from across the street, drop their bags and run over to see what I'm doing and to ask what kind of trees they are and "my how they've grown".  When I planted them they were only about 12 inches tall and now a couple of them are waist high and one is to my shoulders (I'm pretty proud, black thumb and all!!).  He instructs the boys to come back over to help put groceries inside and the next thing I know, here they come again, only this time they all three come over, not just the two little ones.  They were all three beaming from one ear to the other and were super excited to share with me a bag of crops from their garden.  They gave me two Egg Plants and two Squash.  I can't wait until my cucumbers are big enough to pick, as I am planning to make home made pickles and am thrilled with the idea of gifting to them some cucumbers and home made pickles.

It dawned on me today that that little church sign helped me to realize that I have inspired them to grow their own garden.  My gardening neighbor told me today that he's NEVER grown anything before and was happy to see me gardening and happy that he was able to show his children that hard work does pay off.

Pay it Forward Today....go Inspire someone to do something Great!

OUR HOUSE
I'll light the fire
You place the flowers in the vase
That you bought today

Staring at the fire
For hours and hours
While I listen to you
Play your love songs
All night long for me
Only for me

Come to me now
And rest your head for just five minutes
Everything is good
Such a cosy room
The windows are illuminated
By the evening sunshine through them
Fiery gems for you
Only for you

Our house is a very, very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy
'Cause of you
And our la,la,la, la,la, la, la, la, la, la, la.....

Our house is a very, very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy
'Cause of you
And Our

I'll light the fire
While you place the flowers in the vase
That you bought today

So, this is where I work!!