Venting, Oy.

Spent the morning on the phone with Comcast again.

Just have to say, once again, that their customer service is HORRIBLE.

When I asked to speak to the woman's supervisor, she told me she was so capable she did not require supervision.

OHMYWORD.

Are you happy with your internet provider?

Help me out.

We need to make a change!!!!

Sunday Randomness

Really...snow? 

I cannot believe that it snowed today. I was totally unprepared to clean the snow off my car this morning as we headed out for church.

I had already packed away all the winter clothes. Apparently...I jumped the gun.

Let's hope that really is the end of it...because I am so ready for a little warmth.

And in further randomness...Katie has taken to calling me Sister Beatty.

Troy had never heard her call me that before and it totally caught him off guard.

I had gotten Katie a bag of m&m's yesterday and Troy said, "Tell your mom thank you."

She said, "Thanks Sister Beatty."

Cracks me up.

Finally...we have a gimp in the house again...and it isn't me!

Poor Mikayla took a spill and wound up with a sprained ankle.

She needs to stay off it a few days...but she should recover in pretty short order.

Move Over Picasso

We had the chance to go to a district art show on Saturday. There was a lot of talent there!

And we were so happy to see Becky's beautiful picture. Her's is the hand holding the flowers at the bottom.

She was one of just a handful of students whose work was selected.

So proud of all our kids this week!

Sound of Music

The kids had their spring concert -- and it was wonderful.

I am amazed at how good these kids sound! And to think they only take lessons at school!

Here are Emma and Joe if you want to take a listen:



And Mikayla:



Aren't they so good! So proud of these kids!

Here We Go Again

Look at this happy face.

She is always a ray of sunshine, but the poor thing has been suffering from fluid in her ears -- she has actually suffered a temporary hearing loss because of it.

So...we finally got to see the specialist today and the verdict was another set of tubes.

I hate the idea of her having surgery again, but at the same time, I know it will be such a relief to her.

She has been complaining that it  hurts or that she can hear her own voice in her ears -- a little katie echo.

Not to mention, because she can't hear...she's the loudest girl around -- by a lot.

So...April 8. We'll keep you posted.

Menu Monday

It's been 79 days since i've had a coke zero. And...the craving hasn't lessened.

Dang.

But, i'll let you know how it goes in 79 more. Because I really am committed to making this change.

And...now...it's been 7 days since i've had any sugar.

That might not seem like a big deal to you, but for me it's huge.

I have been using splenda in my recipes -- and no one has noticed the change. And...I did have a little piece of Melanie's A-MAZING baked french toast -- which I think had some real sugar in it...but no treats of any kind.

I have really wanted needed to make this change in my life...but every time I start a diet I fail miserably. So, I am taking a page from my friend Jeff and viewing this as a lifestyle.

As a major stress eater and a serious sugar addict...it pretty much has to be a lifestyle. And since i've gone public with this...i'm really committed. **eek**

I don't plan on this lasting forever (the no sugar thing)...but long enough so that I can make it an occasional thing...rather than an every day necessity.

So...onto the menus.

Last week i tried something new...and decided to try and shop twice instead of once. Of course, this did not work out at all.

I actually only ended up making half my menu and never did get back to the grocery store. So...lesson learned. I need to shop for the entire week at once.

Last week's menu:

Grilled Thai Beef Salad -- This was soooooo good. My gosh -- the marinade/salad dressing were delicious. I think will be making this dressing and keeping it in the fridge. KEEPER


Knife and Fork Chili Turkey Burger -- This also was delicious. I omitted the bell peppers and I thought this was wonderful. KEEPER


And...we didn't get to the rest. (life never does go how you planned it, does it?)


So...this week:


KalBi (Korean BBQ)
Chicken and Basil Stir Fry
skirt steak tacos
chicken tikka masala
coconut curry chicken

i think i'm hungry now. : )

Mommy To Be

LOL! 

Nope. Not me.

We had Mariko's baby shower today...and it turned out so cute!

She is decorating the nursery in owls and that was the theme of the shower. 

Didn't these onesies turn out so cute! The images were printed on my laser printer and ironed onto the shirts. So CUTE!

Didn't Mel's diaper cake turn out so cute!

 

Mariko is such a cute preggo! She's going to be an adorable mommy!

I love that her mom and sister were able to be here from Texas and of course her MIL and SIL. Cute family.

Try Not To Drool

I got the chance to go to a cooking class tonight.

It was so nice to get out of the house and learn something.

Seriously. I LOVE learning new skills!

And when that something is AMAZING Thai food?

Try not to drool too much.

I miss cooking group!

Let me know if you're interested in starting one up again!

Menu Monday

We had a super busy weekend with the Kunz kids over...but they were super good and we had a really good time!

I feel like i'm slowly but surely getting things back on track and I have even found a little of my missing motivation. (I actually tackled two of the very worst things of my to do list -- and life feels so much better having those things out the door!)

As for last week's menu:

Lighter General Tso's Chicken -- YUM YUM YUM. This was a huge hit with the family and just so darn good. I even had the butcher slice up all the chicken for me -- so making it was a snap! KEEPER

Baked Ziti -- Another FAB hit. We made this one for the Kunz kids as well and it got devoured! Some of the kids had 4 servings. Easy and yummy.  KEEPER

Chicken and Basil Stir Fry -- making this one tonight. So I will let you know. Actually - I have a PTA meeting, so Troy is going to make this one.

Beef Stroganoff -- Not so much. I really like beef stroganoff, but so am going to keep  looking.  This was had a strong mustard flavor, and I was not a fan.

Crispy Ginger Lime Chicken -- Also not so much. The dressing was kind of yuck. So...I threw it out and made my own.


1/2 c soy sauce  
1/4 lime juice 
1 T ginger, minced, 
6 garlic cloves, crushed
2 T sugar
2 T mirin


But the chicken thighs in the sauce for just a few minutes...then put them on a broiling pan and poured some of the sauce over and broiled -- 8 minutes per side. It was moist and delicious.


So...this week, I am continuing on my search for lighter fare, and we are going low carb. This weeks menus come from FoodNetwork.com. I love how  you can find recipes from some of your favorite TV chefs all in one place.


Grilled Thai Beef Salad
Family Style Chicken
Cobb Salad
Knife and Fork Chili Turkey Burger
Grilled Basil Chicken


Have you been trying any of the Menu Monday recipes? Have any been keepers for you?

Play Hard

What do you do with a houseful of crazy children? 

Well...when there are 10 of them...you load them into two cars and hit one of the funnest parks around -- fantasy park in woodbridge.

The kids had a blast.

The big ones.

The honorary Beatty ones.

The in between ones.

The little ones.

The kids loved this slide -- and it was FAST.

So fast in fact...katie went down -- and evan landed right on her.

Really -- is there a better way to go through life?

In Living Color

Guess What?

I post my scrapbook layouts to this site called Log Your Memory. And they have occasionally picked my layouts to be featured on their site.

Well...they took all the layouts they featured last year and printed it into a lovely album.

And I was chosen as the featured scrapper for February.

And they even featured one of my all time favorite layouts:

It was so fun to see my layouts printed like this!

And for good measure...here's a few of my recent layouts:

It's so nice to be creative again.

At a Loss

Feeling overwhelmed.

I tore apart my office so I could get it painted, but I have lost all my motivation.

My piles of stuff...they are piling up.

And I have so many things on my to do list...instead of getting anything done, i'm not doing any of them.

How do you get your motivation back?

Hallelujah -- I Hope

So, I am trying not to jinx myself...but Katie got her "i'm potty trained" doll yesterday.

It's been sitting in my office since November. And she has wanted it everyday since then.

I have never been so happy to give her a present EVER! And I think she was equally happy.

and on a totally unrelated note -- totally making this tonight!

Menu Monday

Okay. Getting back on track this week with menu's and my life.

I was surprised how putting on one large activity wiped me out for the rest of the week. Apparently, I am no longer a spring chicken.

To review that last set of menus:

Pizza Margherita -- This was delicious. And so reminded me of Rome! We used store bought dough and it was cooked up in a jiff -- the thin pillsbury pizza dough. Easy and yummy! KEEPER

Mushroom Bolognese -- This too was soooo yummy. I did leave out the milk -- cause I though it tasted amazing without it ... really, really amazing!  KEEPER


Thai Basil Beef - This was another dish i LOVED. The kids were not thrilled by it, even the big ones, however, it was so good, I envision us eating this again. Sorry kids. KEEPER

Roasted Chicken and Bow Tie Pasta - This was gross. Sorry. just gross. I ended up throwing out the sauce and making an orange citrus sauce, which I really liked. But, this recipe. yuck.

Currey Ginger Butternut Squash Soup -- I ran out of days to make this one, so we will try it another day.

So, for this week, the recipes are coming from Everyday Food.

I had coke points to use, so I used them to subscribe to this magazine. So far, so good.

We are going to try:

Lighter General Tso's Chicken
Baked Ziti
Chicken and Basil Stir Fry
Beef Stroganoff
Crispy Ginger Lime Chicken

Hungry already!

Poor Baby

Joe had to have a gingivectomy this morning.

He has braces and has had a hard time keeping his gums healthy...and it finally reached the point where he needed to have parts of his gums removed.

He looked so sad and miserable.

But he was a good enough sport to let me take his photo before he went to lay down.

Isn't he just so sad?

We're Off to See the Wizard

No Menu Monday.

No grocery shopping.

No plan.

Seriously.

Why? you ask.

Because I have been working on my personal progress -- and was able to finish my second to last value project.

Mothers are now encouraged to get their medallions with their daughters and Mikayla and I have been working on it together.

In fact, as part of our personal progress project, Mikayla and I (along with Emma) planned, prepared and presented the Young Woman's New Beginnings program.

We made and sent out invitations.

We made decorations.

We made food:

We made little favors for the incoming beehives:

And for the young women who had moved in during this last year:

And made/collected costumes (with a lot of gratitude that the middle school had recently done the wizard of oz):

Flying monkeys and talking trees.

Dorothy:

Auntie Em:

The Cowardly Lion:

The Tin Woman:

The Wicked Witch of the West:

The Scarecrow:

The Lollipop Gang:

The Lollipop Gang Leader, Glinda, and a Citizen of Oz.

We started in Munchkinland and then sent the girls down the yellow brick road to find Oz.

Along the way, they met lots of fun characters who told them about each of the young women's values.

I hope it was fun for the girls.

I know it was for Mikayla, Emma, and I. And I'm glad that we could work on this together!

And...thank goodness for the Colonel...who provided dinner tonight.