Tornadoes, Hail and Wind...Oh My!

As I sat down to write a post, the weatherman broke into programming during Dancing With The Stars and said that our county is under a Tornado Warning....meaning a tornado has been spotted in the town just to the west of us. Scary! Luckily, my trusty friend Tom, is also a meteorologist and I called him wondering if we are danger. He told me we will have high winds and hail but no tornado. It's going north of our town. Whew! If you grew up in the South or the Midwest, you know the excitement in the air when the weather gets bad. It always made me so excited when I was a kid to go outside and look at the lightning and listen for thunder. Granted, I don't think that's what you're supposed to do during bad weather. You should really take cover, but I go straight outside. If its late at night, I just go to bed so I can listen to the rain hitting the window. Nothing makes me sleep better than a good rainstorm.

I have a strange fear/fascination with storms. The clouds are amazing! I downloaded the pictures I took of a rainbow in storm clouds a couple of days ago. You can't see the rainbow, unfortunately, but the clouds still look ominous.

I'm ready for a week of sunny, cheerful weather. The perfect 75 degree, just a slight breeze kind of weather. That would be a welcome change from this strange stormy stuff.

It needs to be nice outside so my Mom and I can go shopping for a dress for my nephews wedding at the end of May. She needs to pick a good Grandmother of the groom dress. I think she might want a longer dress in a champagne color or taupe. It should be fun! I love looking at wedding attire. I'm still trying to figure out if I can take off for 3 or 4 days to drive to Athens, Georgia for the wedding. It's Memorial Day weekend so the plane tickets might be expensive. And, the problem is...Mr. H and I are going with his parents to North Carolina in early May for his graduation from Gardner-Webb University. He's receiving his long awaited Master's Degree in Accountancy. He's worked for two long years on his degree and I couldn't be prouder. But, I can't take off of work twice in one month. In this economy, I don't want to push it and ask for too many days off. They might think I don't take my job seriously. HA! I do, trust me. But, I hate to miss my nephew's wedding. That will kill me! What to do...what to do!?? At times like this, it would be so easy to be a stay-at-home mom and take the time to go to both events. I have watched how hard Mr. H has worked to get this degree and it means a lot to him. Hence, the reason why I can't miss it. His entire family is flying with us to North Carolina and they've never flown on a plane before. It's a big deal.

Speaking of big deals, the boys did so well in their last soccer game. Both of my boys are on the same soccer team. They moved my youngest up to T-man's team. I was worried that being young and one of the smallest on the team might make H-man a little nervous or intimidated. Well, during the second game, T-man kicked the ball to his brother and H-man scooped in and kicked it into the goal. It was like the dynamic duo! They looked great together. I couldn't believe it. At that moment, all of my fear and trepidation disappeared and I was one of those excited screaming moms. H-man said he could hear me yelling and cheering. He said it sounded like my voice got higher as he got closer to the goal. I guess I get a little carried away. But, I'd rather be a Mom thats into the game than one of the Moms that just sits there with no reaction.

Food For A Friend

A friend of ours had a surgery planned recently and I wanted to make food to take to his house to enjoy the night after surgery so his wife wouldn't have to cook. He and his wife are really sweet and have helped me out when I needed it so I wanted to return the favor. I decided to make a standby in my repetoire of meals. It's super easy and actually decently healthy.

German Turnip & Sausage Stew (approx. 6 points per cup serving.)

Serves approximately 4 or 5 depending on the amount each person eats

1 package any brand turkey smoked sausage, cut into slices

6 slices turkey bacon, cut into bite size pieces

3 turnips, large dice

3 potatoes, large dice

1 small onion, diced

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. honey

In a large soup pot, pour the olive oil and start cooking the turkey bacon and smoked sausage until browned. Brown the smoked sausage fairly well, as this is where a lot of the flavor is developed. When browned, add the turnips, potatoes, onion and 1 tbsp. of honey. The honey is good for taking the bitter taste out of the turnip. Add about 3/4 cup water, then simmer until the vegetables are cooked and the texture is similar to a stew. The longer it cooks, the better it is.

Weight Watchers Muffins (they look bad but are super yummy!) (3 points a muffin)

Any box of cake mix - I used chocolate fudge

1 can of 100% pure pumpkin

Simply mix the pumpkin in the cake mix. You might need to add a tbsp or so of water to make it mix easier. Follow directions for muffins on the cake mix box - usually about 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. These are the moistest muffins you will ever eat. My kids could eat every muffin in one sitting.

Moving Up

My Mom just called to tell me that my nephew is moving up in the minor league system for the Atlanta Braves. He's now going to play in Pearl, Mississippi, which is only about 7 hours from us. That's so much closer than Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Rode trip! Our boys are going to be so excited to go see Brett play. Get ready for a ton of pictures this Spring! Go Braves!

Snow Day!

It has snowed like crazy all day today. It started about 8:30 or so this morning and hasn't stopped yet. This morning it was coming down so fast and heavy, it was amazing. It never snows this late in March in Oklahoma. Granted, we always get one last snow in early March, and it's usually our biggest. But this year, it's snowed a ton. I think we've had about 7 or 8 inches. The news said in western Oklahoma it snowed 2 and 1/2 feet! That's not an Oklahoma snow. That's Minnesota snow. I would go crazy. I'm a total sun girl. If it was sunny and warm all year I would be in Heaven!

The boys are with their Daddy across town. It makes me sad when it snows and they aren't home with me. I would love to take pics of them playing and making a snowman. Hopefully their Dad got some pictures he can email me.

The day was pretty uneventful. Mr. H and I ventured out to Wal-Mart in the next town. Our electricity in our small town had gone out due to the heaviness of the snow on the electric lines. We really dread when our electricity goes out because it could stay out for a while. Our town only employees about 10 electrical workers. It makes for a long day when there's weather that has knocked powerlines down. Anyway,we decided to get out and buy a few things that we could eat without cooking. A little bread, lunch meat and cheese would do the trick. We could actually put the food on the back porch in a cooler if we had to. While at Wally World, I saw the cutest Better Homes and Garden comforter set. I'd been looking for something that would go with the gold tone tab curtains we have in the bedroom. This comforter looked perfect for our room. And, I really like the blue in the material.

We came home and fixed turkey burgers with sweet potato fries because the electricity was back on. Yay! Such a relief to be able to stay cooped up in the house and watch tv while checking out my favorite blogs. The turkey burgers were awesome and so moist. The secret is adding olive oil and bar-b-que sauce to the meat as you're mixing it. I also add Cavender's Greek seasoning and Seasoning Salt. They make the meat really flavorful when usually turkey meat doesn't have a ton of flavor. We also served the burgers on whole wheat buns, which I've found to be much better when they are fresh from the store. It makes them much softer.

I found a great recipe I want to try from thewwchick.blogpspot.com. I copied it below. I plan on trying it this week. Hopefully the boys will love it and not think it's weight watcher food. I hate that sometimes they complain when I'm on a diet that they are being punished and have to be on a diet too. Of course, the healthy eating is good for them and they have to understand that. But, sometimes a 10 year old and 7 year old have a hard time understanding. Except when it's WW muffins. They eat the entire box before I get one bite. And, those muffins aren't cheap!

Crock Pot Cheeseburgers

POINTS® Values Per Serving 4

Servings 10

1 1/2 pound 90% lean/10% fat raw ground beef

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

8 oz Kraft Velveeta Light Reduced-Fat Pasteurized Processed Cheese Product

2 Tbsp fat-free skim milk

1 medium green pepper(s)

1 cup onion(s)

2 clove garlic clove(s)

BROWN GROUND BEEF WITH GARLIC, PEPPER UNTIL COOKED IN A SKILLET. DRAIN. COMBINE COOKED MEAT AND ALL REMAINING INGREDIENTS IN CROCKPOT. MIX WELL AND COOK ON LOW 6-7 HOURS. SERVE: SPOON INTO BUNS. COUNT THE POINTS FOR YOUR BUN SEPARATE.

If you haven't checked out the ww chick's blog, you really need to. She has terrific ideas on dieting and staying on plan. I struggle with that at times. I've found that my problem is making food a celebration or fun time. I love to go out to eat. My co-workers love to go out to eat at good restaurants, not fast food places. It has to be a TGIFridays, or On The Border restaurant. Eating out every once in a while is ok, but everyday becomes a problem. I find that no matter where we eat, the calories and fat grams are always much worse than expected. You simply cannot eat healthy at a restaurant unless you are very diligent about what you order. I have some co-workers that love to rationalize eating bad. "It's only for today, just eat healthy tomorrow", " You're no fun, go eat with us", "I just couldn't eat like that, I have to have my meat (or sugar or bread)". Those are some of the things I hear on a regular basis at work. I just need to remember that it's about me for once. I need to keep my resolve and not listen to everyone else. I heard once that people that have a weight problem always want company. They want their friends to stay unhealthy with them so they don't feel so bad. Well, I've always been a girl who never had to watch my weight until I had kids. Even after having my oldest, I went to my 6 week checkup and weighed 135 pounds and I'm 5' 4". Needless to say, I weigh much more than that now. But, I've always attributed it to my son suffering from a disability since birth and the depression that followed, the divorce that came 8 months after my youngest was born and then the tragic death of my father just when I thought I had gotten my life back on track. Once again, I was re-inventing my life and it was tough. But, also, I'm happy, fat and happy, that's my problem too. I've been in love with a man for the last 5 years that makes me feel like I'm the most beautiful person on earth and I've started slacking in the past couple of years and getting comfortable with being overweight. This Spring, that ends. I need to be here for my boys and my sweetie. I need to be healthy as a good example for those boys. I tell them all the time that I used to run 4 miles a day in college. I'm going to show them that it's true and I can be healthy and exercise on a regular basis. I want them to be proud of their mom and the strong person that I've become both mentally and physically.

*Getting down from soapbox now*

A little spring planting....and interrogation at Walgreens

I got the bug the other day to plant some new plants in the front flowerbed. Well, I have to be honest, I saw the neighbor out sprucing up their flowerbeds and I felt the competition bug. You know that feeling, when the neighbors start the Spring spruce-up, you get the feeling that you should be doing the exact same thing. So off to buy some plants at Home Depot. Actually I had to take my son to the Urgent Care first because I was getting worried that his cough wasn't allergies but bronchitis, and what do you know. It was bronchitis. It never ends! So, as we were waiting for our prescription at good ol' Walgreens (that takes forever!), we ran into Home Depot.

I found the coolest looking plant. It has green spiky looking things that grow upward and twist. I had no idea what it was. But, guess the name, The Twister Bush! Pretty original, huh? I bought two just to see what they would look like in the corners of the flowerbed.

I also bought some other plants with flowers in the blue and purple family. Our flowerbed in the front is north facing and gets full sun all day so I went with the plants that were marked for the hot summer sunshine. I hope they last this summer. The others I planted last year didn't make it very well.

Oh, and we did get our prescription in under one hour. That might be a Walgreen's miracle for us. We seem to choose the drugstore with the longest lines. I also bought some Sudafed and they had to have my blood type, DNA sample, family medical history, each address I'd lived at in my life and a full writeup of my financial holdings, just for a little box of red tablets that help my allergies. Methheads might be ruining the world. And, they told me I couldn't buy another box until the count was complete in their computer system. What? I explained that sometimes I give my son a Sudafed because he has allergies and the doctor told me to. The pharmacy guy said, well, you just won't be able to buy any more until it is approved in the system. My gosh....what a mess! I'm asking the doctor what I can take that isn't favored by Meth freaks! UGH!

Good Ol' Home Cookin'

Today has been another stormy, chilly day. What ever happened to Spring??? We didn't have soccer practice so I decided that we were going to eat what we had at home. I try to just eat out of the pantry at times instead of running to the store every other day buying tons of groceries. We are in the middle of a recession, right?

I looked in the fridge and noticed that I bought *Sausage* the other day. Real sausage - the Jimmie Dean kind. Can you tell I've been really watching my weight watcher points because sausage excites me? I decided since it's rainy and stormy outside, we would have Biscuits and Gravy. When I was a kid, my Momma fixed biscuits and gravy all the time. She's from Alabama and it's a staple in her life. There is nothing like a big plate of flaky biscuits piled high with cream gravy with chunky pieces of sausage. Hm, hm, good!

Here's the recipe - and in the South we usually just eyeball the measurements - sorry if its hard to follow that way.

Brown your sausage patties.

Nothing like greasy, er...I mean...plump, juicy sausage patties.

While the sausage is cookin' away, preheat your oven to 350 degrees or whatever the biscuit directions say. Put your biscuits in the oven about 5 minutes before you're done with the sausage patties. I use Wal-mart's generic brand, Good Value biscuits. They taste the exact same to me. But, get the flaky kind because they soak up the gravy better. By this time, I'm really getting hungry.

When the sausage was almost done, I remembered that Mr. Hautemama had bought some of that old-fashioned kind of bologna at the store. A real treat is to cut your bologna in slices and fry it in the pan in the grease from the sausage. Now, that is something my dear, departed Dad would cook me when my Mom was in nursing school when I was a really little kid. It was his speciality - fried bologna sandwiches! Yummy! And for people who aren't from the South or Midwest, I swear to you that we don't eat like this all the time. Just on rare special occasions! HA!

Next, remove the sausage (and bologna) from the pan but keep all of the grease in the pan. That's where all the flavor in the dish is going to be. Add about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, then about 1/4 cup of flour or enough to stir in with all the oil. You need to brown the flour to cook the flour taste out of it. Keep stirring, if it seems like it needs a little more oil, put a little more in. There are no rules, just go by feel. That's something my Mom would say. When your 1/4 cup or so of flour has browned, pour about a cup of milk in. Keep stirring and it will thicken. If it doesn't seem like enough gravy or it gets a little thick - add some more milk. Then salt and pepper. It's that simple. After a while, you'll end up with this:

Cream gravy with sausage! Food of champions! Now put it on a plate and serve with the fried bologna! This isn't our dinnerware. This is one of the kid plates that I serve my sons! Sunny yellow! But when you're on Weight Watchers - you might want to just eat a biscuit with some Polaner's fruit spread. I didn't eat the gravy - but the biscuit is only 4 points. And....it's worth every stinkin' point! Ha!

Dinner was great and Mr. H is now watching basketball. I have no idea why, but I don't really like to watch basketball. I'm a football girl, through and through. Basketball might be too fast for me - who knows. I was 5'4" in the 2nd grade and Dad's from all over town would call our house when I was a kid and beg my Dad to put me in basketball. I was so shy I didn't want to do it. I played softball and tennis. That's all I wanted to do. Oh, and I'm still 5'4" in my thirties. I just grew super fast. Guess if I'd have played the sport I might like it.

My little T-man did his report today on Hawaii. He said the poster board he did last night got a 100%. Yay!

Atlanta Braves Spring Training

Some pictures of spring training in honor of my nephew, Brett Butts. He played for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (the Brave's minor league team) last season and I'm really hoping he does terrific at Spring Training in Orlando! Go Braves!

Instead of watching soccer practice, I blog

I’m pretty tired today since we had huge thunderstorms last night. The wind was blowing so hard through our patio area that it was making a really shrill whistling noise. I think the last time I looked at the clock it was about 1:15 in the morning. The wind has been blowing so hard the past 3 or 4 days, it’s actually hard to drive on the highway. I usually try to be super cautious on the highway, but occasionally I drive with just one hand. I tried doing that this afternoon and almost got blown into the other lane. Scary! I did love yesterday because it was a typical Oklahoma spring afternoon. There was just a feeling in the air that something big was brewing. The storms started out west in the late afternoon, so at least we had time to try to make it to Cub Scouts. And I said “try” because we got to Cub Scouts and of course, our den didn’t show up. My little H-man was supposed to get his wolf badge last night but apparently the meeting had been cancelled and I didn’t know about it. Guess I should have checked our home voicemail before making everyone get ready to go to Cub Scouts. H-man has done so well at Cub Scouts too. He had already done all of the tasks that were required in the wolf book by Christmas or a little after that. Mr. H has worked really hard with him to get all of his tasks done, things like how to read a compass, simple exercises for better health. A lot of little boy stuff. The only thing that just kills me about Cub Scouts is the camping out part. I am not a camper, let me repeat that, I AM NOT A CAMPER. I can think of nothing more boring or harder to tolerate. If it’s not a Holiday Inn Express or better, honey, I’m not going to be able to make it. Mr. H’s brother loves to camp and we live by a huge lake, so when he camps out, we go visit and come home that night. I love my own pillow and bed too much. The thought of not having a hot shower makes my skin crawl!

About 8pm, the storms started rolling in and Tom and Melissa, our friends and neighbors called to let us know that there was golf ball size hail and a possible tornado coming our way. Tom is a meteorologist for the local TV station and wanted to warn us and tell us that we needed to come to their house and get in the safe room if it got bad. That made me panic a little bit. I called my Mom and told her to stay at her house with the golf ball size hail. At least her car would be in a garage over there. Luckily the storm didn’t end up being so severe. But I still couldn’t go to sleep, wondering if we were going to get blown away.

One of my biggest worries was if the satellite would get interrupted while I was watching my favorite shows. Monday night is my night for some good TV watching. I love watching Jon and Kate +8, well, let me correct that, I used to love watching Jon and Kate +8. Now that they’ve become rich and famous, I just don’t think it’s as fun watching the show. They live in a million dollar mansion that was bought solely with money from the TV show. Now, I don’t care that they’ve tried to better themselves, but at what cost to their children. Do their children really enjoy going on all of those trips or does the family have to go to get the plug in for the resort or whatever place it is? And, Kate, please treat Jon with a little more respect. My gosh, is it that hard to be nice on camera to your husband? I can’t stand watching her berate Jon sometimes. I would be ashamed of myself for treating someone I love that way. The other shows I adore are Big People, Little World and 18 and Counting (The Duggars). The Duggars were in town this weekend at a bookstore signing autographs. I wish I had gone to see them. I really admire that family. They are self supporting and really seem like genuine people. The mother never seems to lose her patience or get angry with the children. I wish more mothers could act like that. They really make Kate Gosselin look horrible!

I’m sitting at soccer practice writing this. I actually remembered that my laptop was in the car with me. Why not get some blogging done while I wait. The wind is too strong to sit outside. I know, I’m one of those moms. But, hey, I don’t see any others sitting outside. Both boys are doing so good at soccer. Last weekend, they were both in the game at the same time and T-man passed the ball to his brother and he kicked it in for a goal. They were like the dynamic duo! It was an awesome moment! I was so proud of them!

Today is my nephew Bryan’s birthday. He’s 21. Such a grownup! I can remember when he was born, I was just a bratty teenager-HA! Bryan is in Orlando with his parents because my nephew Brett is at Spring Training with the Braves. He is in their minor league system and was with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans last season. I’m not sure where he will be this upcoming season. I just hope he’s doing good at Spring Training. Bryan and my sister (his momma) went to Disney World today because you get in FREE on your birthday. My kids are gonna be so jealous! I hope he’s having a great birthday – he deserves it!

So glad it's Friday

This was a really rough work week for some reason. I think because the administrative assistant and I were the only ones in our area, everyone else was busy with work conferences or Spring Break vacations. Having it quiet during the day really makes it stretch out. I did get to take off for the Billy Joel/Elton John concert - maybe that's why I'm so tired.

I'm thinking of ordering the cutest wallet ever. I found it on the Etsy store, Sewgracious - http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22318339



I love, love love it! You should go look at the Etsy site. So many temptations.

Tonight we ordered Mazzio's Pizza for the second night in a row. And, I wonder why I need to go on a diet! Actually, I didn't order last night, Mr. H ordered last night. I ate a salad.

I need to go to the dreaded "Wal-Marts" tonight and do some grocery shopping. Oh, how I dread the Wal-Marts. It is good people looking though. I just don't understand the parents who drag their babies in there with only a diaper on. Or on the nights when I need to go after the boys are asleep and there are little kids there at 10pm at night. Very odd.


My weekend is going to consist of tasks. Here's the list:

• Make sure the boy's soccer uniforms are clean and set out for the game tomorrow


• Organize and clean out the linen closet


• Finish doing the laundry and put clothes away


• Make out monthly menu for the rest of March - I've been a slacker lately


• Type out a master grocery list


• Detail car inside and out


• Work on T-man's report on Hawaii


• Find library book titled Fighting Dinosaurs so I don't have to pay $15 to the school for it


• Find easter decorations to put out

Here's what I got one year ago tomorrow. I was floored! It was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen!

A Tough Decision in a Bad Economy

I just read on Kellyskornerblog.com that Kelly has decided to stay home with sweet little Harper. I knew she would. It seems so much harder to leave a child at a daycare and go back to work after having a sick newborn. I know because it happened to me. My son Tyler suffered a birth injury during the birthing process and has Erb's Palsy or what is known as Brachial Plexus Birth Palsy. In other words, his right arm and shoulder were completely paralyzed from an injury during birth. The injury has since recovered in a way that gives my son about 85% movement in his arm (thanks to a prayer chain but that's for another post). The moment I was told by the doctors that he was injured was one of the single most terrifying seconds of my life. I always felt like I was robbed of the innocence of giving birth for the first time. Instead of bringing the baby home to excited relatives and friends, we were immediately sent to a physical therapy appointment. I can still remember the ride home from the first therapy appointment, I thought I would die from guilt, sadness, shock, you name it, I was feeling it. The thought of going back to work was horrifying to me. I just wanted to spend time with my baby. A new mother feels protective even in the most wonderful birth experiences. When the birth experience takes a turn into something traumatic, the mother lion instinct kicks in. You want nothing more than to spend every second guarding your child so that nothing else can happen.

I've wondered about Kelly's situation and knowing how much she wanted that baby and how truly excited she was for her birth, I knew she would never be able to go back to work. I think she will make a wonderful, loving, caring mother. I'm so excited for her and in all honesty, I'm secretly jealous. Not in a bad way, but just wish my circumstances were a little different and I could stay home with my boys.

I love me some Billy Joel & Elton John

Last night was one of the greatest experiences of my life, well, minus having my children, meeting my sweetie, graduating college. But, still pretty close to the top. We went to the BOK Center in Tulsa and saw Elton John and Billy Joel - The Face to Face tour. It was, in a word, AWESOME! We went with our friends Tom and Melissa. Tom was a real gamer as he had hurt his arm this week. He went, even with a serious injury - what a man!

Before the concert, we went to a sports bar and ate dinner. I had the fish and chips, which were so tasty. Horribly bad for my Weight Watchers but really good. I did substitute the fries with sweet potatoe fries. I get points (or no points) for that one. After dinner, we went downtown to an Irish pub called McNellies. It was so crowded you could hardly breathe. I know I'm getting old because I have no interest in being in huge crowds filled with young girls dressed like hookers. That kills me. But, if I had their body, I'd probably dress like that too - HA!

The concert began with both Elton and Billy coming up from under the stage sitting at their pianos. They sang two songs together, then Elton started his set. He sang old favorites mixed with a few I didn't know. But, I'm not a HUGE Elton fan. He was so good though. A true musician. And, he sounded exactly like he does on his album (or CD-whatever). He also had a huge rock in his ear. I wondered if his husband was with him on tour. When Billy Joel came onstage at the beginning, he did a little Irish jig - it was really cute. He also had a green suit on. He did look a little old, made me feel old for about a half a second. He was actually so funny when he would stop and talk to the audience. Elton didn't talk that much, which made Billy seem really witty. He even got up and played the guitar for the songs "We didn't start the fire" and "It's still rock-n-roll to me". His piano even turned around in a circle which allowed me to get some good pictures.

I couldn't believe what a great show it was. It lasted almost 4 hours. We didn't get out until almost 11:30. I took today off so I could rest. We actually slept until noon. It was great to have a day off with nothing to do.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Once again, it's time to make the ol' Irish favorite - Corned Beef and Cabbage. I love this dish. It's something I very rarely make, which probably is the reason I love it so much. You see, I'm Irish. My family is originally from County Cork, Ireland. My father loved that his Dad had red hair and my son also was born with red hair. Red hair and freckles on his face, there is nothing cuter!

Here's the family recipe I use for Corned Beef and Cabbage:

3 pounds corned beef brisket with spice packet
10 small red potatoes
5 carrots, peeled and julienned
1 large head cabbage, cut into small wedges

Place corned beef in large pot or Dutch oven and cover with water. Add the spice packet that came with the corned beef. Cover pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer approximately 50 minutes per pound or until tender.
Add whole potatoes and carrots, and cook until the vegetables are almost tender. Add cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes. Remove meat and let rest 15 minutes.
Place vegetables in a bowl and cover. Add as much broth (cooking liquid reserved in the Dutch oven or large pot) as you want. Slice meat across the grain.

A dog kind of weekend

This weekend we volunteered to take care of our neighbor's dogs while they worked the Home and Garden Show in Tulsa. They sell safe rooms - look up Jim Giles Safe Rooms if you are ever interested in purchasing one. It's a great company!
Anyway, we took care of Sabl the weinie dog and Stormy the Shitzu (get it....Stormy's Dad sells safe rooms-Ha!). They were so funny. The second they came into the house, they acted like they lived there. I looked in the living room and they were both sitting in the recliner and looking at me like, "Where are you gonna sit?". That started off a pretty good weekend filled with all kinds of dogs, our Beagle Baylee and White Boxer Allie(alliesdogblog.blogspot.com), the neighbors Sitzu and Dachsund, then Sunday we babysat my brother-in-law's puppy Bella the Boxer. She was so cute. She ran circles around the other dogs, biting them and sniffing their hineys! Dogs are so funny that way!

I got a few errands done that I had been putting off for a while. I ordered about 6 dresses from Target. They were on sale and were super cute, but not for any woman who has any sort of figure. Stick figures would be the only people who would look good in these dresses. I couldn't believe how huge the dresses made my hips look. Yuck! Complete disappointment. So I took them back and got my money back. I'm tired of buying things thinking I'll lose 15 pounds and wear it. We are in a recession. I'm not wasting my money on things that aren't perfectly suited for me anymore. I also took back some sailor pants from JCPenney - yet again, another clothing choice not good for women with any sort of hippage. I was going to swing by the Goodwill store but didn't have time. I want to go check it out. Apparently, some of the other bloggers out there find really great name brand clothing at Goodwill. Anything to save a dollar!

Speaking of saving a dollar, we made homemade pizza instead of ordering delivery. It tasted better than our usual $20 pizza does. I might try to keep pizza dough on hand in the fridge more often. It only cost about $10 to make 2 pepperoni pizzas. Pretty smart homemade alternative!

It's a quiet kind of Spring Break

The boys left last night to go stay at their Dad's house for Spring Break. The first night they're gone I always feel like something isn't right. It feels as if a piece of me is gone, kind of like I have a part of me missing. It usually takes me about a day to get used to the quiet and calm that comes over our house. I guess the absence of a 7 year old and 10 year old really takes the excitement out of the house. Excitement or choas, I'm not sure which. The good thing is...they are playing soccer which means each weekend they are at their Dad's, they still have to come back home to play in their soccer game, so I get to see them for an hour or so even when they aren't at our house for the weekend. That helps me get through it.

Not much has been going on this week. It seemed to drag on forever, possibly because I still don't feel well. I started getting sick about a month ago with some sort of sinus junk, then it turned into bronchitis, then walking pneumonia. I went through 2 rounds of antibiotics and I'm still coughing. UGH! I need to feel good next week because we see Elton John/Billy Joel. I'm so excited! It should be terrific.