Where does the day go?

That's how I've been feeling. The days just fly by and there never seems to be enough time to squeeze everything in. There's always so much I want to do. And I like to be able to sort of take each thing as it comes, rather than rushing. I want to do it all, and I want to get to everything... But I want to be able to amble along and really soak it all in; the time I spend with my kids and the Lord's many blessings.

I wish there was a perfect balance. I'd love to have a blueprint I could follow. That would suit my structured personality beautifully. But it seems the Lord has another plan for my life. Every day I'm needing to seek Him for direction and wisdom in my prioritizing and my pace. And every day looks a little different than the one before, so no perfect science in this ol' house.

Well, we had a marvelous weekend! My parents came over on Saturday and we had a little birthday party for my mom. We had so much fun, laughing and talking. It was wonderful!

I told my mom I'd make her anything she wanted for her special meal. She chose lasagna. I ended up preparing an entire Italian feast. I made the punch she likes so well, and we had my Bruschetta (the one a couple of posts below) as an hors d'oeuvre. Then came the soup. I made Zuppa Toscana (yum-a-licious!). Next was a wonderful salad with my daddy's own creamy honey and sweet basil dressing. It's my favorite dressing in the whole wide world!! Then came the Lasagna and amazing Cheesy Garlic Bread. And lastly, for dessert I made Ina Garten's Fresh Lemon Mousse. Super good! My mommy loves lemon! We ate until we could hardly move! hehe!

I'm sorry to report that we forgot to take pictures. I promised my mom I'd take some and post them here. Sorry, Mom! But I did grab a couple of the girlies after my parents left, while we were cleaning up. They were acting all silly. Cute little punkins!

That's it for now, little darlings! More later, of course.

Blessings...

Joy

Boodle Day!

One more quickie post on the heels of the last. It's Boodle Day again, so she was my main gal all day today. What a sweetheart, let me tell ya! She makes my heart go pitter-pat.

Here's Chloe' helping me prepare dinner in the kitchen this evening. She's whisking the hollandaise sauce for Mommy. We left later this evening for a special little date, just the two of us.

I love you, my sweet little girl!

Be blessed, dear friends and family!

Love,

Joy

Recipe Rundown

Hi there, everyone! It's been a few days, so I thought I'd make this post my recipe rundown of this week.

Monday night's dinner was Guy Fieri's Bacon and Tomato Pasta. This was super yummy! It was a little spicy, so if ya don't like heat, cut back on the red chili flakes!

Along with Guy's recipe, I also made up my own Bruschetta recipe. This was absolutely wonderful. I had leftover ingredients and had it for lunch this week. Oh goodness... What did I put in it? Chopped tomato, bell peppers (red, yellow, orange), minced garlic, and lots of fresh basil, sauteed in olive oil. Brushed the baguette with olive oil and toasted both sides under the broiler. Topped with veggie mixture and thinly sliced Feta. Then, back under the broiler to melt the cheese. Lastly, drizzle a little basil oil on top. Unbelievable stuff! My new favorite food!

Tuesday was a Rachel Ray day! We made her Pork Chop with Cider Gravy, Sauteed Apples, and Onions. This was pretty good, too. I made extra gravy and browned the chops in the skillet. Then I moved them to the oven and cooked them the rest of the way. Threw together my own creamy mashed potatoes.

Also on this plate is Rachel's Corn Muffins with Bacon and Cheddar Cheese. The reviews said the muffins were a little dry, as corn muffins tend to be. I added extra milk for moisture. The pic doesn't do these muffins justice. I cut this one in half in hopes of showing the oozing cheese, but I couldn't capture that with my camera. Gotta take my word for it. The cheesiest!

Tonight's (Wednesday's) dinner was a recipe I found on Recipe Zaar called Kittencal's Moist Cheddar-Garlic Oven-Fried Chicken Breast (long name!). YUM! Crispy. Garlicky. Wonderful! Use your own spices to make it to your taste. On the side, fresh asparagus with lemony hollandaise sauce.

I also took our leftover creamy mashed potatoes, and to them I added crispy fried bacon and sauteed red bell pepper, onion, garlic, scallion, and parsley, and then I added some sour cream at the end to sort of remoisten the potatoes. Fabulous! Justin said that the only thing wrong with the potatoes was his spoon was too small!

More bread pics. This time for my daddy! "Zojirushi bread, Daddy!"

This last picture shows what I've been doing for the last few days in my free time. I have a table set up in my bedroom so I can work on my recipe notebooks. I've been compiling my recipes for quite some time now, but I fall behind in getting them sorted and filed. I've been putting my 'keepers' in page protectors and making sure I have my notes on each recipe so I can remember my tweakages.

Okay, that's it for my foodie update. No cooking for me tomorrow. It's mall and manicure day! Yaay!!

Love,

Joy

Going With the Flow...

"Like a twig on the banks of a mighty stream." (A favorite quote from Planes, Trains, & Automobiles) That's me. Errrr... At least that's how I aspire to be. I've not yet arrived.

What's all this about, you ask? Well, let me tell you. It's schedule tweaking time again. When does it ever end? That's what I want to know.

I've been a stay at home mom for more than 17 years now, and the schedule shifting and priority juggling never ends. Not ever. I've learned to not get too attached to any one way of getting it all done because the inevitable change is always right around the corner. My type 'A' personality doesn't thrive on change. Then again, if life were not this way, my creative side would probably starve to death.

So, once again, I'm trying to flow. Like a little twig... That's me. Yeah, right. (rolls eyes at self)

My birthday was on Monday. Yay! I had a wonderful birthday weekend just before my big day, and then lots of celebrating on the day of. My amazing parents took Justin and I out to dinner that night. We had so much fun! We laughed so hard, and the food was yummy! It was hard saying goodbye to my special day at midnight. The kids generously offered to make Tuesday my birthday, too. They even greeted me Tuesday morning with a cheery "happy birthday" when I emerged from my bedroom.

The rest of the week has been an absolute blur! Justin's been incredibly busy at work, as always. But even more so than usual. And I've been going and going, doing my thing with the kids, the household chores, homeschooling, and spending one on one time with each punkin. I'm so ready for the weekend!!

I tried a new Emeril Lagasse recipe called Bayou Chicken Pasta. It turned out really well. Had a little kick to it. The recipe calls for a tablespoon of chopped habanero pepper, but I used chopped poblano pepper instead for a little less heat. I always tweak the recipe a tad to my own liking.

Visual aids:

A little Caesar salad at the side to round out the meal.

*Note to my mom: Mommy, click on the pink lettering above ("Bayou Chicken Pasta"), and that'll bring you to the recipe. Kiss-Kiss! *

Okay, I need to hit the hay. It's super late and the nigh-nigh is calling to me.

Love to all!

Joy

Gotta Try This!

Found this Ina Garten recipe for Lemon Fusilli with Arugula on Food Network's website. It was so good, you simply must try it!

The only alterations I suggest are, first, to make a little more sauce than the recipe calls for. Second, I only put in half of the baby arugula and it was perfect. And third, the recipe says to remove the sauce and noodles from the pot, pour it into a bowl, and then add your parm cheese, arugula, cherry or grape tomatoes, cooked broccoli, and lemon slices just before you serve. I actually threw it all together in the pot on med-low heat for just a second to wilt the arugula a tad, otherwise the texture is a little too 'leafy', if you know what I mean. Other than that, the creamy, zesty, lemony sauce was incredible!!

Gotta make this one, guys! You won't be disappointed!

Visual aids:

I tried a new Wish-Bone Italian dressing tonight called Romano Basil Italian, and it was totally yum-a-licious! Don't you just want to grab a fork and stab a bite? I do and it's not been all that many hours since we had dinner.

Just for fun, I thought I'd throw in a picture of the two loaves of bread I made today, and our homemade butter. That's our normal sammich bread on the left, and our fruit and nut breakfast bread on the right. All are staples in our house, made almost daily. This is a goofy looking picture, I know. Embarrassing. Bear with me. Photography is not a gift I possess.

One more random visual aid: This is my darling boy. You'll find most pics of him will be sneak attacks. Isn't he cute, though?

Today was a good day. It started out gorgeous and sunny which was a blessed change from a the wind and rain we've been getting. That put me in a great mood!

We had our showers, morning chores, breakfast and Bible study in the first part of our day. Then we polished the house and got the laundry done. I got the kids going on their schoolwork. Got to my workout today which was much needed! Baked some bread. Then Carissa and I worked together in the kitchen on our new recipe for dinner. (Thanks, Sweetie! You're a huge help to me! )

Daddy came home just before dinner went on the table. We sat down together and had a nice family dinner. Then I sat and talked with the kids at the table while my incredible husband cleaned the kitchen for me. What a guy! *swoon!*

Hubby had to go to bed extra early this evening so he can get up before God tomorrow. Lots of big stuff happening at work for him, so his hours are long! It's all good, though. He loves his job!

My baby, Chloe', still has the flu so she spent the day in bed. She's stopped throwing up, but she fought a fever for most of the day. At least one more day in bed for her; maybe two. We'll play that one by ear. We did let her curl up on the couch to watch Wednesday's American Idol with us.

All of my family peeps are snuggled into their beds now, and I'm about to head down to the kitchen to put the kettle on for some lovely tea. Mmmm... I can't wait. It's jammy and tea time for me. How wonderful. Life is gooooood.

Okay, I'm outie for now.

Be blessed my dear family and friends!

Jesus loves you!

Joy

Another One Bites the Dust

The kids have all caught Daddy's and my cold. Most are doing pretty well with it, but it seems Chloe' has come down with a full-on flu or some other virus. My sweet baby spent the day with a fever and throwing up. No one else we know has had a stomach bug, so I don't know where she picked this up. She's been in bed for most of the day and will be there for at least another two. I hate seeing her sick, but I must admit to enjoying spoiling her and finding things that'll cheer her up.

Our day today was a productive one. We got up and had our Bible studies. The kids did their morning chores and we polished the whole nest, including getting all the laundry done and put away... until tomorrow. School happened, or at least half a day of it. Let's just say that between sick kids and some altered school schedules, the kids only ended up doing half of their schoolwork. Ah well. Momma said there'd be days like these....

This afternoon, Scotty and I dug into a fun (albeit tedious) project. We did some reorganizing of our walk-in pantry, which is actually a storage room off the kitchen. Some things had accumulated taking up more of my space than I prefer, so we did some housekeeping and purging. We even vacuumed and dusted everything, including the walls and the ceiling. Justin just mounted a new light fixture in there, and now it's good and bright so I can really see what I'm doing and looking for. Love it!

Today was Carissa's special day! Yaaay!! I got her a little surprise and gave it to her this morning. She got some special treatment today, and this evening she and I went shopping and out for dinner. We had a blast. Carissa just cracks me up! I think we have a similar sense of humor. We're on the same wave length, me and mini-me.

Today's visual aids: My darling Carissa

No cooking for Mommy tonight. We had leftover cheese stuffed meatballs and creamy tomato sauce, and also leftover coconut chicken that needed to be eaten. Tomorrow... a new Ina Garten recipe. Carissa and I shopped for the ingredients tonight and I can't wait to throw it all together. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Well, I'm almost finished with my cup of tea, and that can only mean one thing; It's bedtime!

Love you all!

Joy

Happy In Love

That's how I'm feeling as I sit here sipping my warm cup of tea, thinking about my day as I type this post. My precious family fills my heart with such joy. Every day with them is special.

How is it that I can be so blessed? Why me? Why has God chosen to open up the floodgates of Heaven and pour such riches into my life, making all of my little girl dreams of love come true? Surely it's nothing I've done.

All that I'm able to do is praise Him for His grace and undeserved favor, and love Him wholly and completely with my life.

"It's my greatest honor and deepest pleasure to serve you, dear Father. You will always be my first love."

Here's a picture from the family archives. Sisterly love! These girls are inseparable. Just seeing them together (and with their sweet brother) makes me happy. Girls, you are a momma's dream!

Today was a productive day for us. We started our day with Bible studies and then took the morning slowly. Later, we cleaned the house from top to bottom-making it sparkle, and worked on schoolwork. I baked some bread and Scotty helped me in the kitchen with dinner. We made a new recipe called Coconut Crusted Chicken with Maui Dipping Sauce. It was delicious!!

Visual aids:

I also concocted my own coconut curry rice with sauteed onions and peppers (actually cooked it in coconut milk). Turned out amazing! And of course, a little fruit salad on the side to round out the luau. Just yum!

The kids and I watched American Idol tonight. Oh my goodness, the tryouts crack me up!!

Justin and the kids are all sound asleep now, and I'll be heading in that direction as soon as I finish my tea.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone! Keep praising!!

Love,

Joy

Oh Happy Day!

Just because JESUS IS SO GOOD!




Today (Sunday) was a great day. Had some wonderful family time. Watched last Wednesday's recorded American Idol with the kiddies. Talked on the phone with my very dear friend for hours and hours. What a blessing she is!

Justin and I had a couple of dates this weekend. Friday, we went to the Outback for steak and 'shrimp on the barbie'. Delicious. And Saturday we went to our favorite Chinese restaurant.

Justin is already working on getting our vegetable gardens ready for planting. He's making them really humongous this year! I'm so excited! There's nothing like shopping in your own backyard. He's also planting a nice herb garden for me. I've always wanted one. He's a wonderful man. And cute, too!

He also had to put two new light fixtures up in our kitchen this weekend. Last week, one of them mysteriously exploded. Not the light 'bulb', mind you; the actual glass light 'fixture' blew up. It was like a glass bomb. I'm so glad no one was in the kitchen at the time. Thank you, Lord! Unfortunately, you can no longer buy those fixtures, so we had to pick out new ones. Oh well. The collateral damage could have been much worse. I'm not complaining.

Tonight's dinner (still talking about Sunday, though technically it's early Monday morning), was entirely Rachel Ray inspired. I got the ideas from one of her shows and looked the recipes up online (Food Network, same as always). We made her Gorganzola Filled Meatballs with Bay and Onion Creamy Tomato (gravy) Sauce. And also her Spinach Garlic mashed potatoes (from the same show). We had Caesar salad to round off the meal. All was super delicious. The creamy tomato sauce was just wonderful.

Visual aids:



I will start posting links to these recipes. I've tried before but for some reason, the link didn't want to paste. I think we may be able to remedy that in the future so y'all can try some of these recipes. In the meantime, you can look 'em up yourself, if you're inclined to do so. I'll be more helpful in the future, guys!

We're having quite a storm right now as I type this post. The lights are flickering, the wind is absolutely howling, and my precious family is peacefully sleeping through it all. I'll be heading off to do the same now.

Blessings to you all!



Love,

Joy

Oops! Almost Forgot!

I did finally make the tweaked version of Martha Stewart's Mac and Cheese for the kids a while back. Forgot to post the pics. I didn't want anyone to think I just never got around to it. I take better care of my babies than that.

Yummy cheesy (a little bit spicy) mixture in the pot.

Cheesy mixture in the baking dish covered in cheddar, moz, and parm.

6 slices of homemade bread cubed on the top. Had to be homemade, apparently.

Hot out of the oven

Ready to eat!

This recipe was delicious and not like any mac and cheese I've ever eaten before. The toasty homemade bread on the top tasted wonderful, amazingly enough. I was surprised. The kids loved it!!

More later, dahlings!

Love,

Joy

On The Mend

Yes, it's true. I think the worst of this cold is behind me and I'm now on the mend.

Wednesday and Thursday turned out to be wonderfully productive, though both days got off to intentionally slow starts. Took it easy for the first part of the day until my energy levels rose sometime after lunch. The kids had to pretty much motivate themselves until I was ready to step into mommy/teacher/housekeeper mode. They did a great job! No real surprise there.

Thursday was Courtney Day! She didn't get as much one-on-one time with me as I would have liked, mostly because my own day got off to such a slow start. And then I had to play catch-up working around the house, doing chores and working on finances, until later than I normally would.

I *was* able to take her out for a special little date this evening. What a wonderful 13 year old girl I have! She talked about all the things she's been doing, the things she's been thinking about, what she's been reading, things she and Jesus have been talking about... Time got away from us and we nearly closed down the restaurant.

It's now early Friday morning, around 3 a.m.. Why am I not sleeping? I'm tellin' ya, it's gonna take an act of God to get me back on a track. I'm going to work on it this weekend. Really. I am. I promise. Monday morning will roll around and I'll be right back to my normal schedule. Hmmmm.... What *is* my normal schedule? It's been so long....

Today's visual aids: Courtney and Chloe' doing their schoolwork together

That's it for now, lil dahlings! More later!

Love,

Joy