Randomness

Has anyone had a lens repair done for their camera?  Suggestions?  I am debating on trading in for a whole new camera or getting my lens fixed.  Can't decide.  The responsible thing would be to get my lens fixed, but I have been lusting after a new camera for quite a while... hmmm.  Thoughts?

Ava Grace and I have been making forts.  I forgot how fun a good quilt can be!  Sarah, do you recognize the backing on the quilt over our heads?  It's the one you made Lily.  We LOVE that thing!!

Lily is having two big weekends in a row!  Actually, probably 4 big weekends in a row!  Last weekend we had girl scouts, which is always fun!  As you can see from above, the girls came in their PJs.  Afterwards they all went to Izzy's for a sleepover.  It was super fun!  This weekend two of her best friends from school are coming home with us Friday for a sleepover!  We are going to tie-dye shirts and all kinds of fun things!  I think I am as excited as she is!  Then, next week she starts her spring break.  She'll be with her mom, so I don't know what she has planned, but I am sure it will be lots and lots of fun!  Sooo... Lily has pretty much had a month-of-fun!  Being 8 years old is pretty awesome.

Being 14 months old isn't that bad either!  Ava Grace got a package this week from her Great-Ma! :-)  It just so happened it was warm enough to wear one of the new spring outfits Great-Ma had gotten her already.  Then, we got a package and it had more super-cute spring and summer clothes!  We were feeling the Great-Ma love BIG TIME!!!  (And appreciating the help with the spring and summer wardrobe... I forgot about when they are little they need a whole new wardrobe every single season... cha-ching!)  

We celebrated St. Patrick's day by wearing green!  We went to church and then went to the Gallatin Country Club for a yummy lunch!  They were doing all kinds of give aways.  The girls got beads to wear.  We always sit at the same table and our waitress, Joan, and the restaurant owner, Bobbie Lee, always come over and make the girls feel so special!  It was a fun day!!  To top it off our day, when Lily got home and finished cleaning her room, she and I made invitations for her sleepover and then made chocolate mug cake! Yum!

Ava Grace is into looking up these days!  She looks up and says, "wow!"  She has added several words to her vocabulary including, but not limited to, "Allllllllll right!" and "Now"  I had no idea how much I said, "Now."  I say it when I finish anything... bathing her, changing her clothes, changing her diaper, parking the car... lol.  I always say a drawn out, "Nooooow. ... "  followed by whatever we are about to do.  "Now, let's go to the kitchen.  Now, let's get out of the car.  Now, you're read to go..."  You get the idea.  Ava Grace says "now" unprompted.  It's really cute.

I scored a free drink at Starbucks the other day!  That always makes my day!  I ordered my usual, but they came to the window with this!  I told her it was okay, I'd take it!  They don't make anything I don't like.  She was going to make my order, but I told her I really didn't mind and she gave it to me for free!  Score!

Ava Grace and I had a lunch date this week!  We had to run some errands and while we were out, I decided lunch out would be a nice mid-week treat!  We headed over to Chick-Fil-A!  She loves people watching and the fruit cup!  I love the #1 combo!  Yum!

Ava Grace is a certified book worm.  The girl loves to read, albeit sometimes in fast forward.  The other day I borrowed "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" from Lily's very large book collection.  I had no idea what a hit it would be!  She giggled at the words and pictures and we read it over and over.  She cried every time I said "The End" and we would read it again.  Now every time she sees it we have to stop and read it right away!  I think we have found her first favorite book!  I hope she loves books and reading as she ages!   Lily is a big time book worm too!  I love that about her!  I hope both my girls always hold on to their love of reading!!!

I may have mentioned this before, but I have to mention it again.  I can't take credit, my Mom is the one that found it!  This stuff is a MIRACLE product!  I promise.  If you want smooth feet, this will do the trick.  I put it on every day when I get out of the shower and then put socks or house shoes on for a while to let it soak in.  If you use this daily, it doesn't matter how rough your feet usually are, they WILL be pedicure soft!  It is amazing!  Get some.  Seriously.

That's it for today.  About as random as you can get!  Hope you all have a great weekend!  See you back here for a menu plan on Monday!

Treasures

Today I bring you three Christmas Kitchen Treasures!

Three items I got for Christmas and treasure in my kitchen!  I haven't had a chance to blog about them for obvious reasons, but I want to share them with you now!

A couple years ago I decided that my recipe box just wasn't functional and that I much preferred a book!  My mom had already started a book of her own using all kinds of delightful scrapbook paper and stickers to coordinate with all her favorite recipes.  I might get to that point one day, but at the time I just wanted to ditch the recipe box and put my recipe cards in sleeves in a notebook!  Mom joined me in the project and we discovered that you could take a high quality sheet protector, put in a large recipe card, and then use the sewing machine to sew a seam across the page and the put in another recipe card, so one sheet protector would hold two large recipe cards perfectly!  I set up my notebook.  It's just plain white with plain dividers, but it serves its purpose and I enjoy having a book!  It's so much more convenient and all my recipes are protected in a plastic cover in case I splatter or spill!

For Christmas, Mom got me a large recipe binder!  It's made for exactly the project we had in mind with beautiful, already labeled dividers, sheet protectors, and recipe pages!  I love it!  I have been so busy with new house and new baby projects I haven't "moved in" to my new recipe book yet because I really want to take time and enjoy the organizing process, but setting up my notebook is rapidly moving up my "to do" project list as I strike off the necessary projects in order!  I think I might get to it this very weekend!!

Another gift she got me was this great set of melamine bowls!  I have been wanting some for a while now and I found this set at Sam's over Christmas!  I mentioned them to mom and she went and got them for me!  I LOVE them!  I use them almost every day!  They are great because they have a non-skid ring on the bottom, I have one in every size I could possibly need, they nest for easy storage and they have spill proof lids!  These are being added to my "every kitchen must have" list!

And my #1 favorite and another kitchen must have for EVERY KITCHEN is the new food saver she got me!  Are you kidding me?  I was using the zip lock freezer storage system prior to this and it doesn't even compare.  I had no idea how very very easy a food saver was to use and how much I would use it!  I am doing a lot more cooking ahead and freezing and lot less throwing away! 

This past week I made chicken casserole (Chris' favorite meal ever) and I multiplied the recipe by 4.  We had chicken casserole for dinner that night and then I froze 2 dinner size casseroles and 2 lunch size (1/2) casseroles.  Chris pulled one out Saturday for lunch!  I think it's safe to say that we both love our food saver!  :-)

One Cook Kitchen...

Not to toot my own horn, but I really liked my top ten school/office supply post, so I thought I would do one for my favorite kitchen gadgets!  So... here are some kitchen tools and utensils that I use ALL. THE. TIME!  I wouldn't want to be without them!  (In no certain order...)

Good quality silicon coated tongs.

For years I cooked without them...

What was I thinking?

These make flipping just about anything SO easy!!

My Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker!

This is one of the best Christmas gifts EVER.

It comes with 3 different size bowls so I have one perfect for dips and keeping party food warm, one perfect for cooking a side or a small meal just for two and a large one for doing a whole roast and other large meats and meals!  This is THE crock pot to have!!

Good wooden spoons!

I use Pampered Chef.

Love. These.

Can't cook without them!

Also from Pampered Chef -

My Can Opener!

I really DO NOT like electric can openers.  I like this simple, manual can opener that leaves no rough or sharp edges AND has a little grabby thing that picks up the lid so you can open the can and throw the lid away without ever even touching the lid!  yay!

A good quality, sharp, chef's knife!

It's just about the only knife I'll use in the kitchen.

I have this Pampered Chef one, but my favorite is my KitcheAid one.

A cast iron skillet.

I have my Granny's and that makes it even more special.  Somethings (like cornbread) just aren't he same unless they're made in a cast iron skillet!

My jadite mixing bowl with handle and spout!

It's just my favorite mixing bowl.

I don't even keep it in the cabinet, it sits on my stove so I can enjoy looking at it and using it!

A Mandolin.

I use this a lot more than I actually thought I would.  It's not something you necessarily use ever night, but when you do find a need, it's so handy!  My favorite things to slice - tomato and onion for burgers and also potatoes for home fries.

High quality and very sharp kitchen shears.

This is another tool I didn't have in my kitchen for years.  When I finally got some in a knife set my sister gave me, I wondered what I ever did without them in my kitchen!

And... a scooper/scraper.

Pampered Chef.

I love kitchen gadgets.  I don't think I'll ever have enough!  I could go on and on, but I really do think these are my favorites!!  What are your favorite kitchen gadgets?  I would love to see your posts on this topic - I might find another gadget I just have to have!  :-)

Top Ten: School/Office Supplies

Tis the season to return to work/school.

You all know I teach (and love it), so I thought I would share ten items that I couldn't live without!  I love school supplies!  I could spend my life's savings at Office Max in the blink of an eye.  Here are my ten favorites that I just couldn't do without:

Sharpies!

I like them big, I like them small

I like them bold, I like them all!

Post-It Tabs

I use these in my books, notebooks, everywhere!

So handy!

Pop-Up Post Its

AND

Pop-Up Post It Dispenser

I will never not have one of these loaded and ready on my desk!

I don't even want to know how many post-it's I use in a day.

(not very green, but I just can't live without them!)

Paperclips.

I prefer staples, but when you have a stack of papers just too thick... you gotta have a good paperclip.  I am funny about my paperclips.  I despise colored, plastic, or plastic coated paperclips!  I like plain silver or gold, standard sized paper clips.  (weird, I know.)

Heavy Duty 3-Hole Hole Punch

Not electric, Not Small.

Notebooks!

I am a notebook addict.

I organize EVERYTHING in notebooks!

Unit plans, lesson plans, meeting notes, etc.

My preference:  Pretty Black & White

File Folders!

(Have you picked up on the fact that I am organized yet?)

I like plain, standard file folders for my filing cabinet.

I like black and white {pretty} file folders for the file holder on my desk!

(Matchy-Matchy - yay!)

Expo Markers!

I like standard sized - not super thick or thin.

I use all the colors except brown, yellow, maroon, and hunter green.  Why?  Well, Yellow doesn't show up, brown isn't pretty, and maroon and hunter green seem to be hard to erase (maybe it's my imagination, lol).

White Out Tape

NEVER again will I use a bottle of "liquid paper."

I LOVE my white out tape.

No more waiting for something to dry!

Pilot G2 Pens

Blue or Black only.

Must have a clicky top!  :-)

There you have it!  10 office supply items that I can't teach live without!

What items do you have in your classroom, home, or office that you can't live without?