Good Intentions

Home Cooking

2010-01-04T13:17:00.009-05:00

Charlie and I have made some pretty lofty travel plans for the next couple of years. In order for those things to actually happen (and keep our no credit card rule) we have to save a lot of money.

The most logical way for us to do this is to stop eating out so much. I would be pretty embarrassed to tell you how much we eat out. Though if you looked at me, you might have an idea that it's pretty often. I figure the best way to make this work is for me to fall in love with cooking. I already love to eat so this should be a no-brainer. I'm going to be posting some of the recipes that I try on my blog. Let me know if you try them or if you have some you think I'd like.

Last week I made Pioneer Woman's Sherried Tomato Soup Oh my, this was so good and super fast. Even Benjamin and Bradley ate it! I didn't add the sherry. It took me about 5 minutes to even find the sherry at the grocery store (I'm not a drinker) and then I decided I didn't want to pay that much for an optional ingredient. Now that I know this recipe is a keeper for my family I may give the sherry a try. We don't eat many leftovers but we have finished this. So, so good!

On New Years Eve I was going to make Potato Skins at 10:00 p.m. but that never happened. I decided to make those along with the soup. These were a hit too. Aside from having to bake the potatoes it was a pretty fast fix too. Potato Skins would make a great after school snack. You could even lower the fat content by skipping the bacon and using lowfat sour cream and cheese. If you're in to that sort of thing. I'm not.

Last but certainly not least - Cinnamon Rolls. I love a recipe that makes a large quantity so I can stock my freezer. This recipe will give you 40-50 rolls that you can share with your friends or freeze. I found that letting the dough sit in the fridge over night makes rolling and forming the roll more manageable. I used a little less butter and sugar in the filling and they were plenty sweet. Do yourself a favor and make these tomorrow.

All of these recipes came from my Pioneer Woman Cookbook. She has tons of recipes on her website as well. Just today she posted a White Chili recipe that I think I'm going to try soon. Pretty useful - that Pioneer Woman!

(I have no idea why my fonts and text size changes in these posts. Or why that top paragraph is indented and centered. I can't figure out how to change it. *ugh*)

Chandy Makeover

2009-12-09T13:42:00.005-05:00

The dining room in our house has a nice little chandelier that was circa early 1990's and gold. Yep, gold. Enough said, right? We finally got around to painting the room (applesauce cake) and it became even more evident that something had to be done about the chandy. Replacing it is not an option right now. Besides, it has good bones. I picked up a can a spray paint. Hung the light by a tree limb and started spraying. Here's how it turned out:

I LOVE it so much! I need to figure out what to do about the candle covers. They are pretty cheap to replace but I don't know what color to use. I've seen someone around blog land recently that covered theirs in scrapbook paper. I might try that. I'm also considering little shades. I decided leaving the jewelry off for now. Having the chandy cream kind of made the jewels blend in too much.

I'm glad I tried the spray paint instead of replacing the light. Spray paint really is your friend!

The Plan

2009-07-22T08:50:00.002-04:00

I've got the general plan for the 2009-2010 school year. Blake is going into 7th grade at the Public School. Since we've moved he'll be one of the "new kids". He's made a few friends in the neighborhood though so it won't be that bad. He started football camp this week and boy is he CUTE in the uniform. Growing so fast!

Brooke is coming back home for the third grade. We'll be somewhat following a Classical approach to homeschooling. It seems to work well for us.

Math - We'll be using Singapore. This will be new to us but my husband (the mathematician- not really but he is in this family) helped me research several math programs. He was really impressed with the mental math approach. He always impresses me with his mental math abilities so we'll go with it.

Spelling - We're using SpellWell. Judging by the samples, she is going to love this. Spelling is one of her favorite subjects.

English and Writing - Rod and Staff English 3. Their English is top notch in my opinion. It's very thorough.

Science - Zoology 1 Exploring Creation Series - Just ordered the Experiment Supply kit from CreationSenesation today. Those experiments actually get done when I don't have to find obscure items or empty out my mayonnaise jar to get it done!

Penmanship - We'll finish up her Zaner-Bloser book that she didn't finish in public school last year. When she finishes that we'll order the next one in the series.

History - We're using Truth Quest American History Exploration-1800's. We'll read lots of great books and do some notebooking, narrating, map work and maybe some lapbooking too. We're using This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall as our spine.

Reading - We'll be reading lots of literature from the period of History that we're studying. Lots of discussion and narrating.

I'd like to add some Latin and Art to the mix later in the year. She'll be spending more time on her Figure Skating as well.

I will be working with Benjamin on Reading and Writing (Zaner-Bloser) and Math. For math we'll just use library math books. After Christmas I'll re-evaluate and see if he's ready for a more formal math program. Benjamin will kind of tag along with Brooke on Science and History but I think he'll end up playing monster truck with Bradley during that time!

We're going to follow the public school schedule (minus the snow days!). That puts us starting on August 26th. Just a few weeks left of summer!

14 years ago today

2009-06-10T10:56:00.004-04:00

That's me on the right, my best friend Michelle on the left. We're still friends. I'm posting this picture because we graduated 14 years ago today. Go Warriors! Time flies when you're having fun. Amazingly, she still looks the same. I do not.

Here's What We've Been Up To...

2009-04-30T12:07:00.004-04:00

Meet Christy, our new house. Our FIRST house. We began seriously looking right after Christmas. We were with our realtor every.single.week through March when we finally found this one. She has everything on our wishlist except a finished basement - which we can do when we save up the cash (read- never). We'll use the basement for storage, winter play and of course, my main reason for wanting a basement, storm shelter.

Christy is 16 years old. A little older than we had wanted but just a few cosmetic upgrades and she'll be perfect. So far, we painted the family room and the kitchen, had all new appliances delivered, removed wallpaper in the dining room, taped off the living room and foyer for paint, and met all the nieghbors.

I can't wait to move. We're waiting until school is out since it's a different district than the house we are renting. We can't wait to get moved, find our church home and put down some roots here. So much has changed this past year. The Lord certainly answers prayers but sometimes in ways we never would have imagined or even chosen. Good thing He knows what's best for us!

Speaking of change, I believe I will be homeschooling Brooke, Benjamin and Bradley next year. I've missed it so much. Brooke has enjoyed school and has done exceptionally well (which really calmed my homeschooling fears - nothing like success to feel validated) but she says she would rather be homeschooled. Blake, on the other hand, really wants to stay in school. He, too, is doing great. I wish he would have the desire to come back home but I suppose 6 years at home with mom is enough. I'm excited to get back to it with the younger ones though. It gives me something to do during the day!

I guess that it's for an update. I'll probably be posting a lot about the house and all the work we're doing to make it our own.

Now, tell me - Do you name your house?

Step Away From the Computer

2009-03-19T08:46:00.003-04:00

Blake and I went for a walk the other night. Our edition (that's the Midwest term for what we southerners call a neighborhood or subdivision) Anyway, our edition has a lot of common areas of sidewalk and ponds. We were walking behind some houses and next to a pond when Blake takes off and runs up to someone's back patio. "Watch this, Mom!" he said. Being the stickler for rules that I am, I'm mortified that he strayed from the sidewalk onto someone's property. I'm sure I quietly yelled at him to get back on the sidewalk. All of the sudden this voice loudly proclaims "YOU ARE TRESPASSING!" He ran away but then ran back to do it again. "YOU ARE TRESPASSING!" I have never in my life seen an alarm system like that. I'm not sure it will keep any real intruders away but it apparently entertains the neighborhood kids quite well.I need one of those goofy alarms that my neighbor owns. Except mine needs to say, "STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER!"

I've been struggling with boredom lately. Bored being at home. I know, I'm ashamed to even say it but it's the truth. My little ones are quite fun and keep me on my toes but I still get bored. I've gotten addicted to "checking" my computer consistently throughout the day. I get sucked into this box and waste so much time. There are so many fun ideas to do with my family and so many ideas to decorate my home but what does it matter how many ideas I've collected if I don't actually get off of my duff and DO any of it? I shouldn't be bored. I've got lots to do. My priorities are just out of whack right now.

Turns out I'm not alone in this struggle. Kimba, over at A Soft Place To Land recently wrote about it. Her readers let her know that they struggle too. She is declaring that Friday, March 27 be Unplug Day. Unplug whatever it is that keeps you from doing what you need to be doing. Take that day to get some things done that you have been putting off. Bless your family with your service and your time. Be reminded of all the wonderful real life blessings God has entrusted to you. The ability to love, cook, clean, change diapers, clean up messes, so laundry and play with my kids all day is a real blessing. I've forgotten that somehow.

If you'd like to participate in Unplug Day. Click over to ASPL and let Kimba know. She's going to have a Mr. Linky up after the 27th to let everyone know what we did with our day and if we learned anything.

In the meantime, I can't wait to go on a walk with Charlie and show him my trespassing skills!

Fabric Garland

2009-03-10T09:20:00.002-04:00

I just finished up this garland for my cousin's baby shower. I like the way it turned out but I wish I had added more brown to it. I'm going to using the Hobby Lobby and Joanne's coupons every week to buy more ribbon and material. These are addicting to make. And they give me something to do at night while my Charlie is watching man TV.

I kind of use mine as a fabric scrapbook. Brooke's first earrings are my latest addition. The kids enjoy looking through it every so often and finding new "treasures" hidden throughout and seeing if they can guess who each thing represents.

My next one is going to be more of a primitive style.

It's a very rainy day here in the mid-west. I would love to take a nap with the little ones today. Yeah right...I wish I was a napper.....

The Horrible, No Good Blogger

2009-03-05T07:52:00.003-05:00

That's me. I will get back to this blog. I have a lot of ideas. They just never seem to make it to blogger.

We're in the middle of something exciting. Here's a hint:

More to come!

We Celebrated Another Birthday

2008-10-23T14:08:00.005-04:00

Recently, Brooke turned 8 years old. She's the only girl I have and while I'm glad she's growing into a young lady, I'm sad just the same. She is the happiest kid you'll ever meet. She finds good in everything and chooses to be happy. This makes her fun to be around!

For her birthday her daddy took her to a high school football game. See, I told you she finds good in everything! I happily stayed behind with the littles. The next morning I took Brooke and her friend to a pottery studio. The girls chose a flower bank and I chose a much needed spoon rest to match my kitchen. Then we headed to Cracker Barrel for lunch. Yum! Then we went shopping at the mall. I don't think we bought anything but we had a fun day together. That evening we had homemade ice cream cake. Double Yum!

I'm upset with myself because I forgot to take the camera to our Girls Day Out. But did snap a picture of our finished pottery. I can see us doing this again soon. It was quite fun!

And I forgot to mention - she got her very first American Girl doll. Meet Mia. She's an ice skater just like Brooke!

Tagged

2008-10-20T22:00:00.005-04:00

My BFF tagged me with this NEAT-O thing. Post your 4th picture in your 4th folder of your "Pictures" file and tell about it. Easy right? WRONG! Very few read my blog (yet) so if you're reading this, play along and then let me know in the comments if you so choose.

This picture is from this July. It's Blake, Mark Stuart from Audio Adrenaline and Brooke. Mark is kind of a hero to our family. AA is our favorite band. Well, they're not a band anymore but Mark and Will are still doing the Lord's work. Anyway, they had a chance to meet Mark again at a Hawk Nelson concert after a Wizard's game. Good times...good times!

Banana Bread

2008-10-20T09:43:00.005-04:00

In an effort to save on the Grocery portion of our budget I've been trying to look at food and cooking in a new (for me) way. One of the things I had been wanting to do is use up the last few pieces of fruit in the bowl that seem to linger there.

I've been intending to catch the lingering bAnAnA's before they turn into a fruit fly haven and make some Banana Bread. I finally did it. My always-eager-to-help-in-the-kitchen helper decided we should pretend "cooking show". That's just what we did. Paula Dean and Sons, BEWARE!

The plan was to have it for breakfast. But the aroma tempted some weak after-schoolers and a couple of pretenders. There was very little left for breakfast.

But our budget and our bellies were happy and that's what really matters!

Boy Cheese - Cute Things They Say

2008-10-14T11:59:00.009-04:00

One of the kids favorite things is their dad's grilled cheese sandwiches. One day, to our surprise, Benjamin (4) completely refused to eat it. After a little coaxing we figured out why he didn't want it - he didn't want "girl" cheese, he wanted "boy cheese". The word "grilled" apparently meant "girl" to him and he didn't want any part of it! This has stuck in our family and I think grilled cheese will forever be known as boy cheese in our house.

I know we're not the only family who has altered the english language. What have your little ones made up that has stuck with your family?

Check ME Out!

2008-10-11T07:56:00.004-04:00

Like my new look? I am in l-o-v-e with it! Darcy, over at Graphically Designing and Life With My 3 Boybarians prettied it all up just for me. It was a fun process and I think I could get addicted to changing my blog like I'm addicted to changing the furniture around in my house.

So, if you're looking for new look, Darcy's your girl.

Now, I'm off to paint pottery with a birthday girl. Yes, another birthday here in our house. We are blessed!

I'll be back soon to get this blog on a roll. Woo-hoo!!! And THANK YOU, DARCY!

I'm Spoiled

2008-09-30T08:16:00.003-04:00

It's 8:15 and I've already been pampered today! A 4 year old in backwards Scooby Doo underwear blew dry my hair for me this morning. I'm spoiled, I tell you. Just rotten. And having a great hair day!

(I opted not to take a picture of him in his backwards undies...holding grudges runs in the family...so, this pic will have to do)

My Baby Turns Two!

2008-09-27T08:37:00.004-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY BOY!

We're going to take a picnic to a nearby park today and eat. And PLAY! Then it's cake and presents. Then it's time for a BIG, IMPORTANT GAME (so I hear). GO DAWGS!! And ROLL TIDE!! For you, Mom. I don't know if the Gators are playing but I'd be in trouble if they are and I didn't mention...GO GATORS!! Yes, we are a house divided.

Enjoy your Saturday!

*photo courtesy of our friend, Eduard

Amy, Remember This?

2008-09-26T18:19:00.001-04:00

Amy, Remember this? It's Benjamin and Red!

Have You Ever Been To Saucy?

2008-09-24T07:09:00.002-04:00

They are helping with a contest for the SWEETEST blanket ever! You can enter to win and this link will tell you how. My favorite was the Apron Skirt. They have size 8...how cool is that? Brooke wears an 8...actually, we both do! HA!! Totally kidding. As if you even thought I wasn't.

All right, go check it out....go on...

Good Intention Gone Awry

2008-09-20T15:50:00.004-04:00

THE INTENTION: Buy a bag of Halloween candy every week or so until Halloween. You know, so that way I won't spend 3/4 of my grocery budget on candy the week before. Great plan, huh?

Apparently not all that great:

I'm so sorry, sweet little Trick-or-Treaters. Please forgive us if we have to turn our lights off a little early this year due to a candy shortage. I tried to be prepared. Really, I did.

A Lunch For Champions

2008-09-19T20:46:00.003-04:00

Or at least for six hungry kids on the go!

This was a picture from our summer fun...image captured by Blake...
oh, and GO GATORS!!

Who Doesn't Love Getting Mail?

2008-09-16T21:55:00.008-04:00

Our family moved over 600 miles away from everything and everyone we love this summer. It sucked. Sorry. Just no other word for it.

From our very first night here to a couple months later, we received cards from friends and family. Getting those cards in the mail was like a balm to my weary soul. Just knowing someone took the time to let us know that they miss us. Those cards held a place of honor on my mantle for at least two months. I've finally put them away. But they are not far. They will continue to bring me a little joy when I'm feeling lonely here.

During our move quite a few people went out of their way to make the move a little easier for us. A wrote most of them a note. But there are a few that were forgotten. I've done this before. Forget to make the extra effort to write out a card to let them know I appreciate them and by the time I remember I feel like too much time has passed and it would just be awkward to send it now. So, I don't. But the nagging feeling doesn't leave.

I finally got those last few cards in the mail. I hope that it brightens their day even though it's a little late.

Getting personal mail is such a treat. Between email, Facebook, Myspace, Texting...and just busyness in general, getting personal mail is kind of rare. That's a sad thing!

Take the time to write someone a note this week. It will brighten your day and theirs!

Benjamin Turns Four!

2008-09-15T12:35:00.006-04:00

I was downloading pictures off of my camera this morning and I thought I'd share pictures of Benjamin and his birthday cake. Even though his birthday was almost a month ago!

Here he is waiting for candles and the wish go-ahead.

And here is an upclose picture of his cake.

I got the idea from Family Fun. I had to improvise a little bit but I was very pleased with the results. So was Ben. He got his first "real bike". Lightening McQueen even. He's almost rode the training wheels off. He's a super-cool kid.

Introducing Me

2008-09-11T14:42:00.001-04:00

Good Intentions...I have so many of those floating around in my head. I decided to start blogging about them with the thought that maybe it would create a sense of accountability to NOT let them remain just that...intentions.

About Me...my name is FeFe (rhymes with me-me). I've have (get ready for all the gooey adjectives) a really great husband, Charlie. He gets more handsome with age. We have four incredibly beautiful children. Blake is 11. Very athletic and handsome and strong willed. Brooke is almost eight. She's just gorgeous and honestly one of the happiest girls you'll ever meet. Ben is four. His big, dark chocolate eyes speak to you and you melt. Brad is almost two. Blues eyes and blonde hair. He too, can turn you to instant putty. Ask me how I know. He looks nothing like the rest of us but he certainly fits. My job is to educate this bunch at home so that's just what I do. I'm a Christian. I like to do and am interested in a whole lot of random things. I imagine this blog will clue you in on all that soon enough. Charlie's job moved us away from all our family and friends this summer. We used to be in the western part of a Southeast state. Now we're in the northeastern part of a Midwest state. How's that for vague?

I guess I should also mention that though I homeschool, grammar is not my forte. I write like I talk and I over use lots of these "..." and these "()" and connect lots of sentences using "and". I'm sorry if it drives you crazy. That's just me.

Hitting the post button before I chicken out!