2017–week 47

monday: repeated bridge kickovers to loosen up the shoulders.

tuesday: she has to stand on this board to stretch her heel cord, so decided to kill two birds with one stone and practice her flute while she was at it.

wednesday: must be the holiday season if chex mix is in the oven!

also wednesday: this is where he was planning to sleep. he was convinced that sleeping in the box was going to be amazing. he lasted 5 minutes before he decided he was uncomfortable and bailed to the couch.

thursday: happy thanksgiving! the selfie stick - dinner table shot is becoming a holiday tradition.

an 8x10 insert of extra thanksgiving pics.

friday: eggnog in my milk box! and spent the long weekend plowing through christmas puzzles. by sunday, i had completed 3 of them!

also friday: commencing the annual headache of attempting to find any of our 4 million strings of lights that work. even the ones we just bought last year only partially worked. so, in an effort to not spend a million dollars to throw lights in the trash every year, we went to mcclendon’s on a recommendation and got cut-to-length cord and screw in c9 LED bulbs. we spent a fortune and got enough for the first floor roof line this year. we’ll get some for the top of the house next year. opted for red, white, and green lights and I LOVE THEM!! screwing in all the bulbs went surprisingly fast! and now we are hoping they last forever.saturday: first Grinch viewing of the season, complete with his stuffed Max.

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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

is it time to go to california yet?

so, we’re planning a trip south to visit dave’s folks down in california. poor micah is having trouble with this concept of planning. almost every day, for the past week, he’s asked, “are we going to california today?” layla, on the other hand, has just been pestering me as to when she can start packing. she’s got it written (and illustrated) on the calendar, and has become an expert in counting down the days. micah, not so much. it doesn’t occur to him that we would, perhaps, put suitcases in the car before we left. the fact that I’ve told him over and over again, that he has to sleep * * many more times in his bed before we go… irrelevant. if we are all in the car at the same time, “are we going to california now?” nope. sorry. “aaawwwww.” (pouty face) yesterday morning, we were in the car, on the way to church, when all of a sudden micah yells out, “we forgot to bring our swimsuits!” we were all kind of confused as to why we needed to bring our swimsuits to church, bu

meal plan monday

well, sorta. it’s tuesday, and yesterday was a total flop… so we’re doing it today. also because I actually know what we’re having for dinner tonight, AND am in current possession of ALL of the ingredients for it. it’s a miracle! hopefully I’ll manage to pull off cooking it in a somewhat timely fashion… my ‘good luck’ is not running high today. got a ticket this morning, and this afternoon, I plunked a whole load of towels into the dryer and tried to turn it on. key word: tried. I was unsuccessful. so I’m hoping everything else will work tonight. anyway… monday: taco del mar take-out! yup, good planning. tuesday: white chicken chili wednesday: roast beef; carrots; potatoes (sweet, for me!) thursday: leftovers of some sort (casting appt. #3 that afternoon) friday: pizza; green beans (and probably a big salad for me) saturday: paleo chicken parm; gf noodles/sautéed butternut squash; salad sunday: scrambles (eggs, cheese, bacon, sausage, etc…) so, I did some shopping today. st

hash brown casserole recipe

so mary asked about this, and since it’s a family favorite, i thought i’d post it. there was, at one time, a recipe for this casserole, but i’ve made it so many times it’s kind of evolved (as these things tend to do). so i’ll give you the recipe according to me… and if you like specifics and measuring things, then bummer for you! so this is what i do: take a 9x13 pyrex dish and line the bottom w/ frozen hash brown patties. i can usually fit about 7. (you could also use a bag of the shredded kind, but it’s not as good.) add about 2 cups or so of veggies. carrots, green beans, peas, celery – whatever you’ve got. (corn is not so good in this recipe, so i don’t recommend it.) you should pre-cook the veggies so they aren’t crunchy – or i guess you could use canned, but i think they’re gross so i use frozen, with the exception of the carrots and celery which are fresh. add a bunch of chopped, cooked chicken – whatever you’ve got leftover or a can or two, if you go that

white wine marinated pork chops recipe

this recipe comes from the weber’s REAL GRILLING cookbook and is my family’s recent favorite way to have pork chops. shane thinks these are the best food he’s ever eaten, and will generally eat 2! i think layla asked for seconds as well, and micah pretended they weren’t on his plate… which is typical. we’ve made them on the grill, or broiling in the oven, and both are equally good. 1/2 cup dry white wine 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh thyme (I have used dried as well, and it works fine) 1 tbsp minced garlic (think I used a clove, maybe two) 2 tsp kosher salt (this was a little much. I think the second time I made them I reduced it to 1.5 tsp.) 1 tsp freshly ground pepper pork chops (4 or 5) whisk ingredients together in a bowl. place pork chops in a large ziplock and pour in marinade. seal and turn several times. refrigerate for 2 hours, turning once or twice. allow chops to stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before grilling. remove f

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