rachel's continued ramblings

last saturday was dave’s company party, and as promised, here are some pictures. there aren’t a whole lot that really show my non-ridiculous dress, and none that show my fabulously, uncomfortably cute red shoes, but this is what i’ve got. see my cute red bag? my shoes matched it. that’s me w/ my back to the camera… white sash. it was a "blues brother’s" theme… notice all the hats and the band. made for very fun dancing music! mr. ‘white man’s overbite’, himself. more dancing. really, i did dance with my husband, just not when anyone was taking a picture. okay, dave just sent me a new one that someone else took. we’re actually dancing together, AND, you can see my shoes… disregard the totally goofy look on my face. sorry that the pictures and captions are a little funky. i usually use live writers to do posts w/ pictures in them but for some reason, it wouldn't publish to blogger right now, so i had to redo the post and the pictures never line up right...

it all began 1 year ago today! aren't you all just eternally grateful that i decided to start a blog? glad the situation isn't quite the same today.

YUMMY!!!! this is one of our favorite recipes EVER!!! well, by ‘our’, i’m referring to dave and i.  actually, micah loves it, but shane and layla would rather have something else and never forget to tell me that they don’t like it.  what is it with kids?  i guess it’s just that round about way of getting even with me for doing this to my parents. anyway, it’s super-duper easy, and even yummier!  let me know if you want the recipe!

so here we go again. we're having some visitors this week so my original plan of eating everything out of the freezer and not having to buy anything or cook all week got shot down a little. but that's okay. monday: chicken, zataran's red beans and rice, salad tuesday: white chicken chili, sourdough wednesday: beef & barley soup (out of the freezer), bread thursday: chicken pot pie friday: pizza and green beans saturday: i'm not here, dave didn't tell me what he wants to make, so i guess they'll starve and i don't care cuz i won't be here! did i mention i won't be here? sunday: pancakes, bacon i have to remember to take a picture of the white chicken chili to show mary for comparison's sake. and cuz it's fabulous and i love it! mmmmm... i'm kind of wishing we were having it tonight now. i might take a picture of the chicken pot pie too. i have to screw with the recipe a little. last time i made it, i added some seasonings to th...

… how THIS qualifies as a dress: ???????? i mean, i realize that it’s probably a sure sign of getting older when you go shopping and statements like that go through your head, but really?  why would somebody wear that?  what’s with the band around the bottom?  i find the thickness of that band kind of comical, but most of them look like this: what the heck? it’s grotesquely reminiscent of 5th grade when the big thing was super long sweatshirts worn with stirrup pants.  because that sort of thing is just so flattering to someone’s body shape.  apparently the pear-with-chicken-legs image is all the rage this year.  who looks good in this?  skinny people? no.  fat people? no. who???  even the models in the pictures look ridiculous! this is what i encountered when i went shopping for a dress last night.  it’s funny to see how trends change.  i’m not claiming that everyone had the best taste when i was in high school… fortuna...

wednesday, i made chili and it always looks so yummy, i had to take a picture. mmmmmmmmmmmm……… i just wish i’d taken a picture of it dished up in bowls w/ cornbread crumbled and cheese grated on top.  YUM!!!!  and i froze half of it, so we get it again w/ NO extra effort!  i so need a second freezer.

my name is rachel, i went to college for 12 years, and i am NOT smarter than a kitchen appliance. i love my coffeemaker, BUT, it makes an idiot of me almost daily. for christmas, my parents gave me a new coffeemaker.  they gave me a different one that i sheepishly tactfully told them i didn’t want and exchanged it for this one.  it’s great.  automatic shut off (a must for flakes like me), no carafe, programmable, keeps it hot, makes 12 cups (a big improvement from my tiny previous one that i loved, except when someone other than me was drinking coffee), you can dispense it with one hand into any size cup…  it’s great.  BUT it’s out to get me. it really isn’t that complicated to use, but somehow i screw it up DAILY! when you’re fixing to make some coffee, you measure the water into the part that it actually brews the coffee into.  then you (and this is crucial) pour it into the tank in the back.  you then put your filter in the basket, pu...

yesterday morning, layla mentioned again that her ears hurt. so that, coupled w/ the neon green snot and the vomit-inducing cough won her an all-expenses-paid trip to the doctor's office. dual acute otitis. aka, both ears were infected. AND, get this, the doc said she had blisters on both her eardrums. BLISTERS! doesn't that sound awful? funny thing is, this was not one of those situations where it is clear as day that your kid has an ear infection (usually revealed in the middle of the night) and you start debating whether or not you can pump them full of tylenol and pray they last until 7:30am when you can call the dr.'s office and get the earliest available appointment, or if you have to go to the ER at O-dark-thirty. (btw, i'm sure my 'critics' will have a hay day with that last one, but oh well.) she really only mentioned her ears a couple of times, but never really complained or moaned or whined or cried about them like i would expect. we've ...

yesterday, despite sickness, i did my sunday chores (one of which is making the meal plan and grocery list). so in an effort to celebrate how proud of myself i am, i'll publish, once again. (btw, please read excessive sarcasm into that last statement.) monday: leftovers tuesday: tacos wednesday: chili and cornbread thursday: oven swiss steak friday: pizza and green beans saturday: dave and i are going out, but i have a tator tot casserole in the freezer for the kids sunday: waffles and sausage (last time i made waffles, i doubled the recipe, so i have a batch frozen) given that i have only 3 real meals to shop for, the grocery list is pretty short this week. and i don't have to buy any chicken, which is always a money saver! i'll try to remember to take pictures of the chili and the oven swiss steak... i think they'll be the prettiest! and i'll take pictures of dave and i at the party... i'm sure we'll be the prettiest! HA HA!

this darn cold has made a complete sweep! shane started it almost 2 weeks ago now.  went to bed monday night totally fine, woke up tuesday morning coughing, hoarse, and feeling crummy.  that progressed to a runny nose that wouldn’t stop and, although he’s better now, he’s still got the cough. a week ago, micah started coughing, and a day later, layla.  so the week has been filled with coughing and whining, and long naps and wiping runny noses and the constant hum of the humidifier. although i tried really, really hard not to get it, on friday i could tell i was about to be unsuccessful and yesterday i finally gave in and admitted that i was sick. this morning, dave woke up and said, we’re not going to church… i have phlegm.  and he’s since decided he’s not going to soccer tonight and has planted himself on the couch. poor layla, as usual, got it the worst.  i don’t know what it is with her, but the child has always had a really bad time with colds....

no pictures. so it wasn't a total flop, but it wasn't a keeper either. i found a recipe online for 'pork chops supreme' made in the crock pot. i'm always looking for new and exciting things to do with pork chops, and making things in the crock pot is always a good idea. unfortunately these were far from 'supreme'. they were edible, the pork chops themselves were good, but you cook them on top of a bunch of onions and potatoes and that part was kind of lame. anyway, it was food, we ate it... well some of us did, and now i know i never have to make it again. pizza tonight.... don't think there'll be anything too exciting to post about that. at least not until the new papa john's opens up at the new strip mall down the road.

it was just so pretty i had to take a picture. this is the beef barley soup i made on tuesday. i varied it a little from holly's directions , big surprise. i never follow recipes exactly.  anyway, i doubled it to start, and since i couldn't find any quick cooking barley, i just used the regular stuff and adjusted the cooking time.  not sure how many veggies i added exactly, but i cut two carrots and threw in the rest of a bag of green beans, the rest of a bag of corn and maybe 1/3 of a bag of peas.  my first thought was that i'd saute some onions and garlic before putting in the broth - cuz everything is better w/ garlic.  but wound up IMing w/ kate and burnt my onions.  so, not wanting to cut another onion and all that, i just washed out the pot, threw in the broth and added some dried onion flakes and garlic powder and called it good.  i put half of it in a freezer bag for another day.  i didn't take a picture of my creamy italian chicken on m...

I got tagged by Mary so here it is. Let's see what your music has to say about you... Here are the rules: 1. Put your iTunes on shuffle. 2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer 3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS 1) IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY? My Dreydel - Raffi 2) WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY? Slip Away - The Commitments 3) WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL? Sweet Talkin' Woman - Five Iron Frenzy 4) HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY? Nocturne #20 in C sharp minor - Chopin 5) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? Haru Ga Kita - Raffi 6) WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO? My Style - Black Eyed Peas 7) WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? Swinging on a Star - Frank Sinatra 8) WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? Undignified - David Crowder Band 9) WHAT IS 2+2? Shake My Sillies Out - Raffi 10) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? Five Little Pumpkins - Raffi 11) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE P...

i'm stealing this from louise because i've thought it was a good idea and wanted to do it for awhile now and just haven't... but i've been really good the last couple of weeks about planning my meals and doing my grocery shopping, so now i can brag about it.  so here's this week's meal plan monday: creamy italian chicken; noodles; salad (it's in the crockpot now!  yummy!) tuesday: beef barley soup; sourdough (stole this recipe from holly and i'm excited to try it. i have some leftover pot roast in the freezer i can use up.) wednesday: baked potatoes; salad (have some bacon in the freezer i'll cook and crumble, plus cheese, sour cream, chives, whatever.  the kids LOVE these.) thursday: pork chops supreme; peas & carrots (found this recipe online - will report later on how we like it.) friday: pizza and green beans (duh.) saturday: mom's mac & cheese w/ ham; veggies (to be determined later) sunday: breakfast sandwiche...

aahhh, misunderstandings! this evening, layla came into the kitchen with a pressing question on her mind. in one hand, she held her cinderella dress. in the other, a sparkly, pink cheerleader outfit. in all seriousness, she says to me, "which one should i wear to do my show?" i told her that either would be fine. i mean, really, how could you possibly go wrong with those choices? shane decides to voice his opinion and points to the cinderella dress and says, "i would choose that one." at which point she cheerfully holds it out toward him and says, "okay, here you go!"

layla got a set of these dot painters for christmas from my parents: she's been having fun with them and the box was sitting on the table, where she'd been using them earlier. she walked by them just now and exclaimed, with much enthusiasm,"hey mommy! i can share these with BOYS !!!" "huh?" was my response. "look mommy! see? i can share these with boys !" i looked at the box and, sure enough, there is a picture of 2 kids, a girl and a boy, sitting amicably next to each other, working on their pictures. "see mommy? the box says right here that i can share them with a BOY! i guess i can share them with my friend, shane !"

i know it's been like a week! but i've had nothing really pressing me to sit down and write up a post.  the weather sucks.  the snow is all gone except for what the snow plow pushed up along the sides of the road and a few lumps left of our snowman and igloo. now it's just pouring rain like crazy and half the state is flooded. dave's parents were here for a while.  that was fun.  they gave the kids mario kart for christmas and we played a lot of that while they were here... that and wii sports.  papa gary was determined to catch up to shane's bowling score before he left... i don't think he made it.  the best was watching him and dave box each other.  HILARIOUS! layla wept buckets when we dropped them off at the airport saturday night... we tried to cheer her up by going to dinner at the rainforest cafe.  instead, it totally freaked her out.  on the way to the airport, i had noticed that my phone was totally screwed up.  i could ...