project life 2015–week 1 (sort of)

so, I say this is SORT OF week 1… it’s technically only thursday, friday, and saturday… not exactly an entire first week, but I wasn’t sure what else to do. week 0? at any rate, I call it week 1, you can call it whatever you want.

thursday: january 1. new years day. dave’s birthday.

waking up at the filippo’s tahoe cabin. pancakes and sausages for breakfast, packing up, driving down the road and just over the border into nevada so I can say I’ve been there, and then hitting the road to find some snow!

we found some… not a lot, but enough to play in and even found a few small sledding hills. shane and gramma stayed in the car, but dave, layla, and micah did some sledding. I did some picture taking.

and we found charlie brown’s christmas tree!

and back home, we celebrated dave’s birthday by inviting a bunch of people over and making him cook!

friday: trip to the bay area. always fun to play with nana’s toys. layla had fun making the slinky do tricks and even managed to get it to go off the table, onto the pile of books, and then into it’s box!

saturday: saying goodbye to gramma before hitting the road.

dave and shane and papa’s truck, making the trip north.

and the most awesome truck we just happened to pass on the way!

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for my not-so-american friends

i didn't have an actual roll w/ the green plaid on it, but i found a refill and an empty roll in my junk drawer (yeah, i know, that should tell me something). but even the empty one says 'scotch' on it. there you go! SCOTCH TAPE!

it just keeps getting better...

so obviously, from my earlier post, the dinner-making portion of my day was a little less than spectacular. oh, that was just the beginning. dave worked late today. after dinner, i ran a bath for the younger 2 and in the process of getting them from the dining room to the bathroom, micah knocked the container of cheerios off the table and they dumped ALL OVER the floor. i scooped up what i could and threw it back in the container, then, mindful that the water was still running in the tub and i didn't want to flood the bathroom, i herded the kids into the bathroom and dumped them into the tub. i went back into the dining room and proceeded to sweep up the mound of cheerios that was left on the floor, all the while keeping an ear open for both voices and giggles in the bathroom (as long as you can hear them, their heads are above water, right?). that took all of about 2 minutes. i looked in on them (both happy as could be) and discovered that both of my younger, happy ch

beef stew recipe

another taken from the betty crocker cookbook, but i mess with this one so refer to the disclaimer … 1 tbsp olive oil 1 clove of garlic, pressed (or some good shakes of garlic powder) 1 lb. stew beef 3 cups of hot water (I probably use closer to 3.5 or 4) 1/2 tsp salt 1/8 tsp pepper 3 medium carrots, cut in thick coins 2 stalks celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 1-2 medium potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces 1 small onion, chopped 1/4 tsp salt 1 bay leaf *optional: 1/2 bell pepper of your choice; 1 turnip; 1/2 tsp browning sauce (whatever that is) 1/2 cup cold water 2 tbsp all-purpose flour heat oil in large pot. cook beef and garlic in oil about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown. add hot water, 1/2 tsp salt and the pepper. heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. cover and simmer 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until beef is almost tender. stir in remaining ingredients except cold water and flour. cover and simmer

tater tot casserole recipe

i realized i forgot to post this last week when we had it. i actually like it a little better than the hash brown one, but both are good. it’s VERY similar. once again, this is something i’ve made so many times that i just kind of wing it now, although i do have the recipe that kate sent to me after she made it for my family when micah was born. i like to keep the recipe because it has some little ‘britishisms’ throughout, just like kate! ;-) who, by the way, rocks, having called to check up on me the other evening when she saw that the power in our area was out AGAIN! thanks kate, smooch smooch! but now i’m getting distracted… big surprise. here goes. you will need: 1 lb or so ground beef (or ground turkey) 1 chopped onion a bunch of veggies (kate’s recipe calls for a ‘tin’ of mixed veggies, but i use fresh carrots & celery if i’ve got’em, frozen beans, peas, corn, whatever). maybe 2-3 cups. 1 can (or tin) of cream of something soup (i use celery usually

the swimsuit rant

i’ll forewarn you that most averaged-sized women will probably not appreciate this post very much. i understand. i’ve been (either directly or indirectly) the object of various hatred more than once. i am not an average-sized woman. i’m only 5’1” on a good day, and i’ve never donated blood because most of the time (when not pregnant – and therefore not allowed), i don’t weigh enough to do so. i do not ‘diet’, so to speak, nor do i work out compulsively. i try to eat healthy food, for the most part, and i try not to sit on my butt all day. this is just the way i am. our current culture views me as ‘lucky’ to have this body type. whatever. a couple hundred years ago, people would have considered me ‘unhealthy’. i am what i am. i am small woman. as the Lord has seen fit, i am a small woman who has given birth to 3 children. as i see fit, i am a small woman who wishes to exercise a bit of modesty, even when swimming. unfortunately, the swimwear industry, seems to think that the only

rachel's continued ramblings

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