Last night Jake and I made some of mom's homemade chicken noodle soup.
It was perfect on a snowy day, especially along with a grilled cheese sandwich.
cheesy grits jalepeno poppers
Jake and I are big fans of jalapeno poppers, and cheese grits. So when we saw this recipe, we thought we'd try it out with some modifications and take it to the Super Bowl viewing party we were attending. We substituted the red pepper for jalapenos, and used a garlic cheese recipe for the grits.
They weren't a huge hit at the party, but Jake and I liked them a lot. I think the unexpected "grittiness" texture threw people's taste buds for a loop (#midwesternproblems).
We used Grandma Skidmore's cheese grit recipe, and baked the jalapenos in the oven. If you try this at home, I'd wrap the jalapenos in bacon. We just forgot to get it at the store when we went.
Don't forget to wear gloves and soak the peppers in water for at least an hour.
If you don't wear gloves, don't touch your eyes - trust me on that one.
updates
The site is still under construction as I find time to make the links clickable and linked to blog posts.
In the meantime I've been trying to work to get a few posts up here and there. I honestly haven't opened my laptop since I last posted on this blog.
My typical day consists of :
6:15 AM - Wake up, brush teeth, make sure hair is decent-looking, moisturize face, make coffee, grab breakfast bar and picture books to read to my three-year-olds
6:30 AM - Out the door and off to elementary school for the before school program
8:15 AM - Leave the school and head to daycare
1:15 PM - Leave daycare and head home for a quick lunch
1:45/2:00 PM - Head to the YMCA to haul stuff to the elementary school for the after school program
6:00 PM - Leave the elementary school, cook dinner, and catch up with Jake
7:00 PM - Dishes, clothes, or cleaning (Or Flappy Bird, Facebook, and Candy Crush)
8:00 PM - Netflix or TV shows with Jake
10:00 PM - If I'm not asleep, I'll read for 30 minutes before I head to bed :)
As you can see - I have a pretty regular routine and haven't made the time to do fun projects to blog about.
Some of the latest excitement I've had consists of finding children's boogers in my hair.
What's scary is that I wasn't even grossed out; I just picked them out like it was no big deal.
bar cart
One thing that I wanted for Christmas this year was a bar cart like the one found here from the blog Cupcakes and Cashmere.
But Jake and I had a couple of Target gift cards from the wedding still, and we found an awesome cart! For Christmas I got Jake everything needed for Moscow Mules which have been our favorite since we turned 21 and drank out of the copper mugs at the Starlite Lounge. We also lucked out because most of this liquor is from people that bought it and only drank a little bit (mostly mom and dad).
Can't wait to add to this cart later on, it looks a little empty when compared to the inspiration photo! I think we are off to a good start.
Now... to track down a giant "Omaha" print to hang above it for our new apartment like the one she had above hers!
my jobs
It's only been a few weeks out of school, and I've been more exhausted these past few weeks than I ever have before. I barely have a lunch break, and I am working to save up for the near future. I mean, that's why I'm working so hard in the first place - at least that was my motivation in the beginning. I've been reflecting on the specific reasons why I'm working in the first place and the things that I hate - like leaving before dawn and coming home after sunset, being to tired to stay up past 10:00, and working so hard to spend money on "dumb" things like water and electricity. But in one of my "woe is me" sessions, Jake helped me realize something really important.
I love working with these kids and they love me.
I believe that I am a good influence and role model to them, and I am in two jobs where I know the work that I do is actually important and meaningful to these kids' lives.
In daycare I'm the teacher for the three year olds. I'm the very first person to show these kids what "following a set schedule" means, how to share, how to cut out a circle, how to make ABC sounds, how to dance the hokey pokey, how to handle anger, and what The Little Mermaid is. I get to watch them progress each day, and I get lots of hugs and smiles. I also spend a significant amount of time with these kids every day, and since these kids have early bedtimes and their parents work full time I can be a huge help in helping these kids build character. I can help set these kids up for success in pre-school, and life. OR I could just sit and watch them play, make sure they are safe, and not put any energy in at all to get my paycheck every week. (obviously I won't be doing the second option).
In the before and after school program I work at I am in charge of the safety and discipline of the children and communication between parents. I work a lot with issues that arise with parents or children behavior and I make decisions every day that help children handle anger, school homework, and friendship problems. Yes, I could sit back and never interact with the children at all and do "paperwork" or stand around and talk the entire time, but instead it's rewarding to me to get to know the kids by playing games, having conversations, and telling jokes.
After church today I completely realized that God wanted to use me here at these two jobs all along. Although I may only be working at both of them for only four more months, that's still four more months that I can show these kids love and help them mature into the next phases of their lives, and they are helping me move into that next phase of mine as well. I could have taken other jobs , like office jobs that I'd also be good at and payed more, but right away I felt like this was where I needed to be and now I can see why.
Under Construction
Hey,
Some of you may have noticed the site has changed a bit.
I'm trying some new links out...the top bar doesn't work yet but hopefully it will soon.
Stay tuned.
crochet sampler throw
Last winter I began working on this throw and I finally finished it this fall. This was so fun and easy to make because each square is a different pattern and it gave me a chance to work on different techniques. It also wasn't very bulky because you only work on one square at a time and then stitch them together. The free pattern can be found at http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L0605.html?noImages= .
Although I loved this cozy blanket, I gifted it to Jake's family this Christmas, so I'll just have to snuggle with it there :) .
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