The Wedding: Brittany & Andrew

Congratulations to Brittany and Andrew

So when I was in Kindergarten, a new family moved into the house just 2 doors down.  We lived in a culdesac in an additon sort of between 2 cities. I had a friend who lived 3 doors down, right across from me, and we were talking one day about who was moving in, she heard the was a girl around our age and I couldn't have been more excited. Her Mom recently told us a story about something Brittany said before they even moved in. Linda said that they hadn't even bought the house yet but they were driving past my house and she saw me outside and told her parents that I was her new best friend, and we hadn't even met yet!! But she was right. And I am so thankful for that. In the following years, we spent every day we could together. They had a pool in their back yard and I can't even tell you how many times a summer we would be in there. We were fish and we would even wear matching swimsuits. In the summer if I wasn't home you could bet everything that I was with Brittany and vice versa. We were inseperable. One time we were at the grocery store and we were wearing matching outfits and a lady came up to us and asked if we were twins. We both smiled and looked at eachother and told the lady yes, we were twins. She was so excited and wanted to introduce us to her twin boys! Oh how we were embarrassed. We got out of there ASAP! It was so fun though because we are exactly a month and a half apart in age and we stayed the same height and size for many many years. Some of my favorite memories of us were the Fourth of July... EVERY YEAR! We would go to the local college who had a huge firework display and we would dress up and get our faces painted. We'd sit by the stand that played oldies music and they would serve hotdogs on frisbees and hand out soda to your hearts content! Or your bladder's ;) We would go early in the afternoon and make up handshakes and dances and play with the frisbees and eat snacks until the fireworks started then we'd go back to her house and go swimming in the dark. Oh how I miss those days...

The summer before 5th grade, my family had to move. We had been living in a 3 bedroom ranch and my Mom was pregnant with baby number 5. We were outgrowing the house and moved exactly 7 miles away. But to us that was HUGE! For 5 years we were never farther than a 8 second run and now we had to be DRIVEN to see eachother?? So even though we didn't see each other often, we talked on the phone and knew that the other one was always there if we needed them. Shortly after my family moved, Brittany and her parents moved 3 hours away! Her dad had finished his time in the seminary and the parishes he was assigned to were in in a surrounding state. Summer before sophomore year I got to visit for the first time with her grandparents and we went on a little photo shoot around the town just us 2. We went to all of the antique shops and found this old barber shop that said it was open but you had to go down stairs in the sidewalk to get to it and by the looks of the window it looked like it had been closed 40 years but still had old shaving stuff on the counter!!! lol I realized again what an amazing friend she was when she walked in the rain with me to the Catholic Mass in town with me before going to her Lutheran service. It made my day when she told me how neat our Mass was. She liked how we all said the prayers and responses together and liked our traditional songs. That really meant a lot to me.

She was there for me to talk to when I met the man that would soon become my husband and I was SO excited for her when she met the man who just became her husband on November 17, 2012.

My handsome hubby

And that is what this post is about. The marriage of Brittany and Andrew. I was so honored that she let me be a bridemaid in her wedding. We don't get to talk to eachother every day or every week or even every month. But when we do, it is as if nothing has changed and not a day has gone by since we saw eachother last. It's a connection that can never be broken.

That's me on the right.

She was the most laid back bride so I got to wear a dress that fit me and my personality and I got to get dolled up and feel pretty for a day. She was the most beautiful bride and her husband knew exactly how lucky he was when she agreed to be his wife for better or worse.

IDK how to turn the picture but this is the GROOM

The beautiful bride and me :)

To Brittany: your friendship means so much to me, I am so lucky that God gave me a friend like you who would be there for me through everything that life threw at us. We have both started families now and though soon we will be across the country from each other, I know that we will still be  just as close. I love you and am so happy for you.

Fall Salad

Tonight I needed something to make for dinner and decided just to throw together everything I had and it was AMAZING!! Started off with a bag of lettuce and added some sliced almonds, feta cheese, dried cranberries, and over half an apple.

 

 

I couldn't find my poppyseed dressing, think the hubby finished it off, so I did 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil Balsamic Viniagrette and 3 Tbsp. Italian dressing. For the health benefit I added 1 Tbsp ground flakseed and Voila, AMAZING and very refreshing, healthy salad!!

 

 

 

 

If you don't have everything I listed, who cares?? Make your own! Try mixing your own dressing or combining a couple. Add a pear or even some grapes! Break up a package of Ramen noodles for a crunch. Experiment to make it how you like it.

 

 

 

 

I started with a serving this size but ended up eating another whole serving larger than this! I can not even begin to tell you how refreshing the apples in it were and how vibrant all of the flavors were together.

 

 

 

I'm not going to write out the recipe in detail cause you know what?? None of it was exact. I added stuff until I thought it looked good and then chowed down. Go make yourself a salad and see how well it tasted just by throwing together what you have on hand :)

 

 

God bless and good eats!!

Halloween 2012

I know the pictures are sideways so sorry for that, I changed them on my computer and they still got imported like this :/ And I don't know how to fix it!! 

My baby girl was a princess a few days before Halloween but by Halloween day it was cold nad rainy and I had to get her a warmer costume so hence, the LION. I went with this versus something girlier because I wanted to be able to use it for future children, always thinking about them even though I haven't met them yet :) 

This was her first picture, it just now occurred to me that had I put a hat on under the hood of the jacket it would have stayed out of her eyes better. lol 

She loved her basket, it had her tippy cup in it :)

Before you ask, the jacket was stuffed, in all honesty it was a little TOO poofy so maybe next time we get to use it I can open it up and get some of the stuffing out. 

Her and Daddy, she's not looking.

Next one Brandon looks high but I promise he was just blinking. lol 

This was the FIRST house that we went to. Brandon pushing BellaBoo and her Uncle Ryon who was also a lion this year.

Hope you all had safe, fun Halloweens! 

God Bless! 

Beef and Noodles

This is a delicious, very quick version of Beef and Noodles. It only has 4 ingredients and is SO easy to remember. My made this all the time while I was growing up and I LOVED it, I always assumed that it was really hard to make so when I got married and wanted to make it, I asked my mom for the recipe. I was AMAZED that such a wonderful flavor came from just a few simple ingredients!

First off, I must say that these noodles are amazing!! You will need a whole bag of them. I know that at my grocery store they are back on a shelf by the dairy, not in the pasta aisle but they may not always be the case.

Also you will need Hormel Beef Roast Au jus and a packet of Brown gravy. 

The fourth ingredient I mentioned is Beef stock. So first just get 7 cups of beef stock and noodles cooking on medium high (I find it goes WAY faster to start with hot tap water). 

Next cook the Beef Roast in the microwave for recommended time, pour the gravy into the pot then shred the beef and add to the noodles. 

Once thee noodles are cooked, add the brown gravy. You may not notice a huge change in consistency until it starts to cool but it adds great flavor and is SO worth it.

Enjoy and God Bless.

Texas Toast (not the Garlic Bread!)

My Great Aunt Beverly used to make this and she called it Texas Toast. The last time I saw her before she passed was in 4th grade so remembering her in this recipe is a wonderful feeling, I miss her so much! 

This works wonderful as a breakfast or as a side to a big family breakfast! It only has 3 ingredients and once you make it one time you will never need to look back at the recipe again, it is so easy! All you need is sausage, I use Jimmy Dean Country Mild, english muffins and some shredded cheese (any kind really). 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Basically ALL you have to do is cook the sausage, drain it and add some cheese, stir it until it is melted on. 

Scoop all of the sausage and cheese onto English muffins (I used 5 out of 6 of them). 

Cook at 350 for 10 minutes and they are good to go! 

Enjoy your Texas Toast and God Bless! 

Fall Tradition

Thanks to a picture I saw on Pinterest I got the cutest idea for a Fall tradition to do with my kids, starting with my BellaBoo. :) 

So the other day I went outside (in 60 degree weather in October??) and raked some leaves into a big number one and took her picture next to it.

                     

She wasn't much interested in it but she was loving playing with the rake. 

This one is my favorite, I love that little girl! 

I did learn some stuff for next year though. Do it in the shade. I did not take the pictures in the shade and they are so bright it hurts my eyes to look at the pictures. lol If you don't take them in the shade, at least make sure you face the number so that you can't see your own shadow. It was hard to get a good shot when all I could focus on was getting my shadow out of view. Maybe next yearI will have a child to write a ZERO next to, say some prayers for us :) 

Is this something that you would do? 

Do you have any fall traditions of just things you like to do this time of year?

NO to United Airlines

For any of you who don't know who Abby Johnson is, she is an amazing Pro-Life woman who stands up for the rights of children and women everywhere. She is a former Planned Parenthood director and after leaving she wrote the inspirational book unPlanned. Please check out this article about United Airlines, why we should boycott them and what we Should do to help.

You can find the article (below) on Abby's blog.

"Today I received my standard weekly email from my former Planned Parenthood affiliate, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. You would think they would have removed my name and email by name, but that is another story. Anywho, it was a pretty boring update with nothing exciting to report, but as I was scrolling through, something caught my attention. This particular affiliate always has their big gala event at the Hyatt in downtown Houston. Lots of well-to-do Houstonians come to show support of this huge affiliate (4th largest in the country to be exact) and all of the “services” they provide, including abortion. No one that comes is surprised that Planned Parenthood provides abortion services. No, they know that all too well. In fact, the people that come to this particular gala for this particular affiliate come because they are PROUD to support the largest abortion clinic in the Western Hemisphere. They know what abortion is. They know what abortion looks like. They know, and they support it proudly…at $500 per individual ticket.

So, back to the attention getter. I always like to see the names of the high rollers who are listed as the “co-chairs” of the event. These are donors who give tens of thousands of dollars to the affiliate and are therefore asked to put their name down on the invitation. They usually have some sort of status among the elite local community. Name recognition is important when you are trying to raise over a million dollars at one event. I scrolled through the invitation and there it was, a name that was VERY familiar to me. Jeff Smisek.

That name may not ring a bell to you. But I know it well. I spend most of my life on airplanes. Before every take off we get a little safety demonstration. If we are lucky enough to be on a decent sized plane, that demonstration is shown on a video. I personally prefer to fly on airlines that are in the “Star Alliance.” Some of those include United, US Airways, and Lufthansa. I am a million mile flyer with this program, which comes with a few perks. Because of this, I try to stick with United when I travel. When the United safety demonstration video begins, a message from the CEO comes on first. He is thanking us for traveling on United and talks about how image is so important to his airline. That man’s name? Jeff Smisek.

I almost couldn’t believe what I saw on this invitation. Surely not. Surely not MY Jeff Smisek! Surely not the CEO of my favorite airline!! Let it be a lie!!! He was actually listed with someone else, a lady named Diana Strassmann. http://www.ppaction.org/site/Calendar?id=102855&view=Detail.  Hoping there was someone else with the name, Jeff Smisek, I googled both of their names together to see what I would find. Well, they are married. And Jeff Smisek, CEO of United and Jeff Smisek, co-chair of Planned Parenthood’s annual gala are one in the same.

Now I was disappointed…and angry. And I am doing something about it. Jeff Smisek runs the second largest airline in the world. And now he is co-chairing an event for the LARGEST ABORTION CLINIC IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. This abortion clinic’s goal is to perform at least 75 abortions, 6 days a week. They intend to perform abortions up to 25 weeks gestation. And THAT is what the CEO of United Airlines stands for.

Well, this million mile flyer has had enough. It is time to expose Jeff Smisek for who he really is. He is helping to kill the most defenseless among us. And apparently, he is PROUD to do it! He has his name plastered on their invitation! I am taking a stand against United. Will you stand with me? Will you say NO to United Airlines? This one clinic ALONE in Houston is killing over 23,000 babies per year!!! THAT is what Jeff Smisek is supporting. Jeff says United Airlines cares about their image…well, let’s see how much they care. Let’s get this message sent out far and wide. On my website at www.abbyjohnson.org, I have included a sample “letter to the editor” that you can send in to your local paper. Share this article on your blog. Share it on your Facebook and Twitter. We need to hold these people accountable. Our voices DO make a difference…and our dollars DEFINITELY make a difference! Stand against Jeff Smisek! Stand against United Airlines!   Email Jeff Smisek today and share your disgust.  jeff.smisek@united.com.

Letter to the Editor
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, located in Houston is the 4th largest Planned Parenthood affiliate in the United States. They run the largest abortion clinic in the Western Hemisphere. This clinic’s goal is to perform at least 75 abortions, 6 days a week. That totals over 23,000 abortions per year. And they terminate pregnancies up to 25 weeks gestation…that is babies over 6 months old.

So, you can imagine the surprise I felt when I found out that the CEO of United Airlines, Jeff Smisek, was “co-chairing” this particular affiliate’s annual gala in Houston, Texas. www.ppaction.org. When flying on United, you will often see a video of the safety demonstration on television monitors throughout the plane. Before the demonstration begins, Jeff Smisek will come on and thank you for flying and tell you that “image” is very important to his airline. Well, let’s see if that is really true. Myself, along with thousands of other pro-lifers across the country, are taking a stand against United Airlines. Jeff Smisek runs the second largest airline in the world. And now he is co-chairing an event for the LARGEST ABORTION CLINIC IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. Enough is enough. It is time to expose Jeff Smisek for who he really is. He is helping to kill the most defenseless among us. And apparently, he is PROUD to do it! He has his name plastered on their invitation! I am taking a stand against United. Will you stand with me? Will you say NO to United Airlines? Our voices DO make a difference…and our dollars DEFINITELY make a difference! Stand up for life!  Email Jeff Smisek today and share your disgust.  jeff.smisek@united.com."

God Bless you and hope you have a wonderful day!! 

Chewy Caramel with NO Candy Thermometer

Chewy Caramel

1/2 Cup butter
1/2 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1/2 Cup sweetened condensed milk (SCM for short)
1/2 Cup light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
nuts of choice (I like walnuts)

I promise you, this is one of the easiest things you will ever make and one of the most delicious! I prefer this recipe over ANY store-bought caramel and I can make it with ingredients I already have on a moment's notice! DELICIOUS!

So here's what you do.

1) Put 1 stick of butter in a large glass bowl and melt it in the microwave for 1 minute! While it is melting, get out your sugar, brown sugar, SCM, can opener, wooden spoon, and 1/2 Cup measuring cup.

2) Open the SCM, get the bowl out and add 1/2 C. of each ingredient. Stir.

3) Put in the microwave for 7 minutes. While the Caramel is cooking, put everything away except your spoon. Lay out a cookie sheet with a piece of wax paper on top (or you could do what I do and spray non-stick spray onto parchment paper).

Get out vanilla (or rum flavor is also DELICIOUS!), and measuring tool for 1 tsp.,nuts if you'd like and pot holders (2 for your hands and one for the counter

4) Carefully take the bowl out of the microwave, stir, and wait 1 minute before adding the vanilla and nuts. It will look like this right out of the microwave. Stirring will make it bubble up so don't worry. 

It will look like this after adding the vanilla and nuts.

 5) Pour the mixture to the wax paper and let cool a couple hours. Not gonna lie I normally wait about 20 minutes before taking my first piece. Even though its not set, the flavor is still delicious!!

ENJOY!! This is one of my favorite treats. OH!!! And do NOT try to double this recipe! Please be sure to comment if you try this :) I promise, once you try this, you will never go back to the hard way. I got this recipe Here

God bless

Summer Spinach Salad

Summer Spinach Salad

10 oz. spinach
2 heads of Romaine lettuce
1/2 C. Almond slivers
1 carton strawberries
1 pear
1/4 C. feta cheese
1 Perdue Chicken Breast per person
Poppy Seed dressing on the side

1. Layer the Spinach, Romaine, almonds, strawberries and pear in any quantity you like, but make sure to save some for the top to make it pretty. I chose to do half of the add-ins in the middle of the salad and the rest on top.

 Half way through the salad.

Top before I added feta, I had to add this because it looks so fresh and pretty. 

Finished :) 

3. Bake the chicken breasts on a foil-lined tray at 350 degrees until cooked through. I like to wash mine, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper before cooking. :)

 These are the Perdue chicken breasts that I use and LOVE!!

before cooking, YUM!!

Perfect portions :) and very delicious!!!

Make sure to comment and let me know what you liked or what you would do different. God bless!

Smoky Baby Back Ribs

While my family was up at my grandparents lake cottage this weekend, 

I was looking at some magazines and came across a recipe for Ribs. 

I have made it my mission to cook a good meal every night this week 

and though I have never made Ribs before and frankly, the thought 

of touching raw meat just makes me want to hurl. 

But I always get through it and this recipe met my husbands approval! 

He told me after eating a whole slab that he was prepared

for me to waste the $20 it took to buy a pack of 3 slabs. 

But yay for this recipe and a few minor adjustments on my part. 

I didn't take any pictures until after he told me they were great but frankly, it was pretty darn easy ;) 

SMOKY BABY BACK RIBS

What you will need: 
3-4 slabs of Baby Back Ribs
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 C. Cajun seasoning
3 Tbsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp cayenne
1 1/2 tsp. ground mustard
Barbeque Sauce *See Cook's Note

Directions: 
1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F
2. Rub the seasoning generously into the ribs. Lay out foil and line with parchment paper. Wrap the ribs tightly in the parchment lined foil. Wrap each slab separately and place on a cookie sheet to cook.
3. Cook the ribs for 2-2 1/2 hours, until a knife can pierce the meat with no resistance.
4. When fully cooked, take out of the oven and set the oven to broil. Take the slabs out of the foil and place back onto the cookie sheet. Brush the slabs with any sauce that you like. *See Cook's Note
5. Broil the ribs 3-5 minutes or until sauce is bubbling.

This was one of 2 that I made (the other is already wrapped, in the rub, and ready to cook whenever Brandon wants it :) 

*The recipe called for a Chipotle Sauce  but I chose to use Sweet Baby Rays Barbeque Sauce. It is our favorite!! But here is the recipe if you would like to try it :)

Chipotle Sauce Recipe
1 C. chili sauce
1/4 C. Chopped chipotle chilis in adobo sauce
2 Tbsp honey

**UPDATE** When I had posted this recipe, I only made 2 of the 3 slabs I bought. The third slab, I rubbed with the spices and wrapped  in the parchment-lined foil and kept in the fridge for 2 days before making it again for Brandon. See how much darker the meat got? He said the spices came through really well and was even better than the first time.  

I caught him off guard with a picture enjoying dinner. We have no table right now. I am in the middle of fixing them up, the chairs are almost done but the table is going to take at least another week. And sorry the picture is sideways, my computer is being stupid and wouldn't let me flip it. Oh well. 

Please comment if you have any other Baby Back Ribs recipes that you love or let me know if you try mine :)

Have a great day and God Bless!