the back door

many of you might remember my post several months ago about whizboys "day of cheerios." it definitely was a turning point in his constant complaint of meals. in fact, when he starts in now all it takes is me letting him know there is a box of cheerios in the pantry! so, noticing that princess has become more and more picky, today i entered war with her. i had some ham leftover along with 1/3 of a package of noodles and some corn. so i whipped up a variation of my mil's pork and noodle casserole (i believe this was a truck stop recipe). for me this was using up what we had and providing a yummy meal. i whipped up some corn bread muffins, although i admit not my best version, and we had a delicious "leftover turned new" meal. princess of course asked for something else. no, ma'am, not this time. so yes, she had to eat the casserole. she loves all the ingredients but mixed together, she says yuck. well, little lady....the challenge is on. after a sma...

they are either eagerly awaiting my return, or frankly just need to get out more often:)

so i guess 36 is truly getting older! the picture above is part of my new nightly routine. while the "vicks" is temporary due to a cold, the bengay, tension lotion and pillow spray are all things i use to help me sleep better! crazy huh? so back to turning 36....i woke up last friday with an INTENSE head cold. i mean INTENSE friends! adding that to my already dizzy thing and i was a bit, well, it was not pretty. on saturday morning, while nursing my sick little self, hubby asked how sick i was as he threw me tickets to see fiddler on the roof!! well, i am not that sick:) here we are at the morris. in a weird random way we were sitting next to a couple we knew so they kindly offered to take our picture. you see the young 'un behind me...he is from a local high school that will be performing fiddler this spring. he plays moytl (sp?). let's just say he was quite excited about every little thing and he didn't seem to mind me blowing my nose at the end of ev...

there is nothing quite like a day with your girlfriends.... we met at 8:30 for coffee. at 12:30 we decided we were hungry. and when 3 girlfriends are hungry lunch is a must! i love these ladies and am so thankful for their place in my life.

starbucks??????? well only until my gift cards run out! and no, it isn't because i'm giving up coffee or my passion for starbucks. this past year was quite lean in our little home. income was down and expenses piled up, more than what i realized. as some unexpected vehicle and medical bills come in with our christmas bills i feel overwhelmed i guess. you see, we have always lived rather frugally, but this year there are some projects we'd like to do - mainly add a second bathroom to this old farmhouse. and of course, that costs some money. so as this new year begins i am thankful that we closed our books as well as we did in 2010. i'm thankful that God continues to provide and that we obviously have not gone hungry. but i'm also realizing that we need to find ways to save some money so that we can add that bathroom. i'm not sure how that will look, but i do know that my starbucks love is going to have to suffer a little, or maybe a lot this year. this is...

there was the christmas cookie baking day - one of us found it to be incredibly frustrating and left the table in tears! there was the amazing sunrises we were greeted with many mornings. and yes, i saw a few of them and they were amazing but not enough to get me up for each and every one:) we took a trip to the children's museum where princess was in high heaven with the barbies!! and many days spent canning.....here are several of my jars of applesauce! i never knew it would be so easy and quick with this handy dandy kitchen-aid attachment i borrowed...this year, there was one under the tree for me!!! woo hoo...bring on the applesauce, applebutter, salsa, spaghetti sauce, pickles!!!!

so here are the kiddos eager to see what is under that wrapping paper! both seemed content with their loot. i'm thankful for simple kids who received simple gifts this year. christmas eve with my extended family....i love this photo of my amazing niece shot by princess! and what momma's heart doesn't leap when she sees her hubby teaching daughter how to ice skate!! those skates had been on her wish list for a few years. a huge thanks to grandma that found them for a buck at goodwill in just her size!!!!!! this year i do promise to blog more often, friends....i have so many posts rattling around in this brain of mine. i'm hoping my project 365 will keep me a bit more motivated as well!