Here's something I like.

My friends have been collecting Polish Pottery for years. I always admired it and really longed for a collection of my own. I just never really had a place for it. Now my kitchen has been remodeled and I have a perfect spot. So, I finally have a few pieces of my own. This plate is the most recent purchase.
Yes, polish pottery is made in Poland. Pretty huh?

Something for lunch.

This is one of my favorite things to make for lunch. I usually make it the day after we have had a roasted chicken.

• I chop up some left over roasted chicken. You can used canned chicken as well.
• Add a bit of sugar
• Mayo
  
• Just a touch of mustard
• I add dried cranberries. You can add nuts and raisins too.
  
• Crackers, bread, salad...whatever sounds good with it.

That's it. I really enjoy this. Hope you do too.

I dunno...

I really want to be a better blogger. I have lots to share. Just don't make time to share it. Darn it.

Unicycle

My boys are on the unicycle team at school. Pretty impressive. They have given two performances this year. It's exciting when they show off their hard work. The practices are two or three times a week.

Peep, peep. The urban chick.

Love my new little ladies. So sweet and cute. They'll give me eggs in a few months. We have Sofie, Ruby, Willow and Ramona. Two of the girls don't have names. We may be finding them a home. I think we have one or two chicks to many.

Shame on you!

Hmmmm...sorta of a strange picture. Shame on YOU! Poor kid.

Art

Here is some art for your viewing pleasure.
These originals were created by my kids in preschool and kindergarten. Sweet.

Nice.

We went to lunch at a local dive with the boys today. As our food arrived an elderly man came in to find a seat. From what the waitress said it sounded like he had already been there for breakfast. As he passed our table he stopped and smiled. He said hello to the boys and admired the fries. He found his seat a few booths over from us. I couldn't stop glancing over. He reminded me of my dad. (those that know me well, know that I am a true daddy's girl) As we went about our lunch I kept looking over and thinking of my dad. I said to my husband that we should say hello or even better, invite him to our house!!! He just shook his head. I was thinking that this old man is lonely, does he have family, and the poor guy eats all his meals here.....at the dive. I am such sucker for old guys. I got teared up thinking about it all.
My husband calls the waitress over and says that we would like to pay for the gentleman's lunch. She sorta got all wiggly and wobbly. She said, "NO, you can't!" HUH???? We can't?? As she walked away she said..."because someone has already paid for yours." What?? Someone bought our family lunch??? What is going on???? Wow!!! So we asked, why can't we buy his? Amazingly enough, he had been admiring us as much as we were admiring him.
Turns out he is 95 years old, drives, and owns an airplane that he still likes to fly. He told me that he's shooting for 100! His name is Winston.
Thank you Winston. You brought tears to my eyes. We will pay it forward.

Eat this. Flat iron steak.

Here is a delicious recipe for you. Mmmmm....mmmmm...good! Loved it. So tender and flavorful.

I did not put measurements because I did not measure. It's sorta of to taste. I can tell you that this is not a thick sauce. It is watery. I added about 1 cup of red wine and quarter cup of olive oil. This was for A LOT of steaks. If you only have 4 steaks I think a quarter cup of wine with 3 tablespoons of olive oil would work. I prefer fresh herbs but didn't have any. I used dry herbs and they worked great.

Ingredients

• olive oil
• garlic, minced
• chopped fresh parsley
• chopped fresh thyme
• cup dry red wine
• teaspoon dry mustard powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• flat iron steaks

Whisk all the ingredients together. Pour over steaks. Cover and refrigerate for three hours or more. I turned the meat once while marinating.
I used an indoor grill. It's flat on one side and the other is "grated". I put the flat side down over the burners and used the "grated" side. The temp was on high to get grill super hot. I seared the meat to seal in the juices.
They smelled great and looked gourmet. The steaks turned out super tender.
I used left overs the next night for blue cheese and steak salad. Yum! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Here's one for ya!

This Christmas I decided to attempt some cute homemade gifts. I decided on chocolate chip banana bread in mini loaf pans and "Chex" mix in cute containers.
The banana bread mini loafs looked cute! I was proud to give them out.

I tried out a new "Chex" mix recipe. I followed the directions and made the mix in the microwave.

I wrapped up my homemade gifts and was ready to deliver. I gave the mini loafs to the school secretary and the principal. I gave some "Chex" mix to the P.E. teacher and my neighbor. I wrapped it up really cute with a bow and everything. I was proud of myself.
That was until I got home and decided to sit down with a cup of coffee and some of my banana bread. The banana bread was dry. Thank goodness I had some coffee. Then I gave some "Chex" mix a try. Ewwww! What the heck. It was soggy and had a weird taste. I was sorta freaked out! Oh my goodness....I just gave this gross stuff away as gifts!!! OH NO!! I almost drove back up to the school to ask for the gifts back. The "Chex" mix was the worst. The P.E. teacher was going to think I was trying to poison him or give him stale stuff.
I realized it was to late. What was done was done. I had to come to grips that I gave out cute but gross gifts!
I have managed to avoid talking to the P.E. teacher to this day....2 weeks into the new year. I asked my neighbor about the new flavor of "Chex" mix. He was honest enough to say that it had a "different" taste to it. I could just sink.
The school secretary said she enjoyed the banana bread. She was a horrible liar!!! I saw that smirk.
Hope they had coffee and a Merry Christmas.

The making and breaking of Gingerbread house 2009

Here are photos of our annual making and breaking of the gingerbread house. Every year the boys make a gingerbread house. We enjoy it during the holiday season and it serves as a great decoration. Once the new year has arrived the boys take hammers and destroy their creation. It's always fun and messy.

Need to shake your head and laugh?

Need to shake your head and laugh? Here you go. Little brother at his best.

Science Fair 2010

Well, it's science fair season again. The last two years we have participated in the school science fair as well as the regional science fair. The school fair is usually held in mid February. Having the fair 5 weeks early defiantly put some pressure on the boys. I guess I'm not gonna lie, it put pressure on me too.

The week of the fair also included class book reports, regular homework, sports, and of course a birthday party for my oldest. It was just A LOT for me....I don't know about them...for me, I was gonna go nuts!!

WE managed to pull off two simple, yet good, projects. Happy to say that they were both good enough to receive second place for their grade level. Way to go!! Surprised and proud for sure.

One was on comparing yeast the other on comparing citrus oil from different fruit. Did you know you can squeeze an orange peel over a flame and seem some pretty cool stuff!?

Yeah for 2nd place!

xo M

I'll bet you are asking, "What the heck is that?"
It's a frozen, peeled, hard boiled egg. Silly.
It was frozen by accident. This is the ice that formed between the shell and egg. Pretty cool huh?
Nope, not much to say if I am showing you a frozen egg.

xo M

Sooooooo....

So what? Once again, I have been a bad blogger. Shame on me for letting things go. I've been busy. Doing what?? Once again, I don't know. I've been doing stuff. Here are the last few months in photos to catch you up.

I would love to say I will write again tomorrow or even this week. I can't make any promises. I will try to post again this month. Don't hold me to that.

Have an easy day.

xo M

Cub Scout Hike

This is a post that I should have put up in May.

We went on a scouting hike to Twin Falls. I would recommend it for families. It has some incline and I would consider it to be a moderate hike. If you are into geocaching you'll be in luck. Apparently there is a cache there.

I am not a hiker. I don't seek out hikes. I don't encourage uphill, narrow, dirty excursions. BUT...this wasn't that bad. I enjoyed the work out. With that said. I really don't need to go again anytime soon. Maybe a walk at the mall would be enough.

PS. For your laughing and rolling of the eyes pleasure I have included a picture of me trying to be a outdoor model.

Boating

Here are some photos from a boating trip we took on July 3rd.

Make sure to check out my husbands makeshift dew rag and air guitar.
Such a good look for him.

Whatever.

I know. It's been a while. A long while.

Let's see if I can summarize what's been going on.

Not much. That's my summary.

Actually. I guess that's not completely true. We have gone camping, to a Mariners game, a couple of weddings, and celebrated the 4th. So, normal family activities.

Here is my post in photos. That's the best I can do for now.