Better late...

...than never (right?).

Here is Samuel's birthday present. I still need to hand-tie it, but then it will be on its way! :)

Another Happy

In addition to my super-fun hat, Joy also sent me this owl iron-on to make a t-shirt that coordinates with my new (not sewn quite yet) Whooooo's Sleepy pajama pants (from the fabric Matt gave me). I can't wait! He's toooooo cute! :)

Neat Reference

Check out this site. It is a stamper's catalogue of her stamps by theme, and then if you click the theme, she has ideas for how to use each of her sets. While I do not have identical sets to her, the ideas are a great resource! Maybe someday I'll have time for something like that (ha!)... :)

Sunny Surprise

Look at this FABULOUS hat my sister in law made for me! Our family is meeting at the beach in a couple months (my first trip to Hilton Head), and she made and sent this hat as a "can't wait to see you at the beach" happy. I LOVE it! I will take a pic of me wearing it soon, but I had to go ahead and "brag" on Joy. :) She use Amy Butler's Blue Sky Hat pattern. I can't wait to use it! Thank you, Joy!! :)

Valentine's Craftiness

Here are a couple pictures of Valentine's Day craftiness...

Here are the Valentine's card holders my class made. My team mate showed me how to make them--aren't they fun?

And here is a Valentine I made for Matt while hanging out with Trish on Thursday. :) It totally took me back to the days when my oldest brother was in college, and Mom and I would cut all sorts of crazy stuff out of magazines to make silly notes to him. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Soo excited!!

Matt came home tonight and gave me an early Valentine's Day present! Back before Thanksgiving, I saw this fabric and instantly loved it.

I wanted to wait til I had a coupon in hand, however. Then ALL of JoAnn's snuggle fabrics were either 99 cents or $1.99/yd on Black Friday. You can imagine how many patterns they sold out of.... including my little owls. I searched high and low, and even on eBay, but I couldn't find *any* at JoAnn's and no one one eBay had more than a yard (I want to make pajama pants and 1 yd. is not enough).

We have 2 JoAnn's in town (no A.C. Moore or Hobby Lobby, but 2 JoAnn's.....), and Matt visited the one that's not right down the street from us tonight when he was out Valentine's shopping. Yup, you guessed it! Though I'd checked there before, HE FOUND IT!!! He said he was SO excited and told the employees, "My wife has been looking ALL OVER for this!" Blessing #2--they gave all 4+ yards left on the bolt to him for remnant price!! He paid $3 and change for 4 yards of my highly sought-after flannel!! I am beside myself with excitement!!

Plus, I have my own little surprise up my sleeve for Mr. Fabric Finder himself, and for a friend. This has been a VERY fun afternoon. :)

I'll let you know how my pajama pants turn out! I can't wait!!

Menu Plan Monday

Menu for this week:

Monday (Italian): chicken alfredo
Tuesday (beef): stew
Wednesday (Mexican): soft tacos
Thursday: Valentine's Day... will have to check with Matt :)
Friday (easy): I have Friday off, so I might choose something more "involved," but if not, then chicken and dumplings again (hehe)
Saturday: hopefully out somewhere
Sunday (crockpot): spicy crockpot roast

click on the picture above to find more menus! :)

Dear Valentine...

My Valentine...

What is his name? Matt!

How long have you been together? We have been married 2 years and 4 months (the day after Valentine's Day), and we have been together for about 2 additional years before we married (10 months of dating, 1 year of being engaged). :)

How old is he? 27

Who eats more? It depends on what food you're thinking of, we each have our favorites. He is an ice cream fiend. :) I love Chili's chips and salsa.

Who said I love you first? Matt... and then I freaked myself out that I was making my heart that vulnerable, so the poor guy waited a couple months before I said it back. But when I *did* say it back, he KNEW "this was it." :)

Who is taller? I am (!)

Who sings better? We both like to sing along with silly songs in the car. He would probably say I sing bettter, but I like it when Matt sings, too.:)

Who dances better? Neither? hehe

Who is smarter? I could never do Matt's job, and he says he could never do mine. We have marveled over how perfectly our strengths fill in each other's weaknesses.

Who does the laundry? I do.

Who pays the bills? I do (I have more time at home since I get off earlier in the day... and also I took a basic accounting class in high school and am just enough of a nerd that I LOVED it.).

Who sleeps on the right side? Matt

Who cooks dinner? Usually I do, but Matt grills (especially in the summer) to give me a break. :)

Who drives? Usually Matt.

Who is more stubborn? Hmmmmm.... we probably tie there. ;)

Who kissed who first? Matt kissed me (my first ever)

Who proposed? Matt

Who has more friends? Matt has more friends in FL, I might have "more" outside of FL, but you know how girls hang out in groups... and I moved when I was little, meeting a variety of people.

Who has more siblings? I do

Who wears the pants? Matt, and I am thankful for his love and leadership. :)

Works for Me Wednesday

This week's Works for Me Wednesday has a theme--favorite places to shop online!

Let's cut to the chase:

1. I would be remiss if I did not mention Sew, Mama, Sew. Not only do they have amazing, adorable, beautiful fabric, notions, and patterns; but their blog provides incredible inspiration and fabric give-aways. What's not to like?!

2. Jcaroline... Another sewing/crafty site. They ran *incredible* deals over the holidays. I managed to snag some $14/yard Nigella fabric for just a few dollars! I have to thank my sister for introducing me to both of these stores.

3. Etsy. I admit I haven't bought anything from Etsy yet, but a girl can dream, right? I also dream about maybe one day (ha!) trying to sell sets of my Jesse tree ornaments or something. Who knows...

Visit Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer for more online shopping suggestions. :)

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: pasta bake
Tuesday: chili
Wednesday: taco pie
Thursday: teriyaki chicken with ginger rice
Friday: depending on when Tyson gets in town maybe veggie burgers, maybe pizza, we'll have to play that one by ear...
Saturday: chicken pot pie or grilled pork chops (that'll be the men's call) :)
Sunday: crockpot roast

**I am having trouble coming up with Tuesday night "beef" recipes that aren't basically Italian or Mexican recipes (to of our other dinner "themes" in the course of a week). Any ideas? Also, I'm going to start tutoring Tuesday night, so it'd be great if they were fast recipes. :) Am I asking too much? hehe Even if it's not fast, please share--I can always move an "easier" themed night to Tuesdays now that I'll be tutoring.

click on the picture for more menus!

A New Recipe

I have been wanting a good AND easy recipe for chicken and dumplings for awhile. I came across a recipe on this blog recently, and after that blogger's friend also gave it rave reviews, I just had to try it.

They were both right! It's SO good! If you have an "authentic" recipe, you may groan at this short cut, but it was perfect for us!

Normal Recipe - makes a big pot:
2 pounds of chicken boiled and deboned (save the broth)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 cans of biscuits
Salt and Pepper to taste

Boil the chicken in enough water to cover it. (about 15 minutes.)
Take chicken out of broth and debone and cut into small pieces.
Boil the chicken broth and the can of soup, and while boiling tear biscuits into small pieces and stir into the boiling broth.
When you have all the biscuits in the broth and stirred up, add the chicken and salt and pepper to taste.
Turn heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

NOW, Jenn's way:
6-7 good sized Tyson chicken strips
1 can cream of CHICKEN soup [her husband hates mushrooms...]
2 little cans of biscuits (or one normal sized can - about 10 biscuits)
About 1 cup of chicken broth (she covered the chicken MOST of the way with water to boil it, then use chicken broth to cover the rest.)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook as instructed above.

We highly recommend it! We used the "Jenn's way" making about half, and we even have some left-overs for lunch sometime!

Enjoy!

Amazing Blogs

I have been tagged by my sister (in-law), Joy, at Oy with the Poodles Already and asked to share 7 things you might not know about me. Hmmmm..... here we go!

1. I once convinced my husband over the phone while he was out of town that I had dyed my hair red in his absence (I hadn't really). Even when I told him I was kidding, he didn't believe me.
   
2. I can only go a couple weeks at a time before I have a major re-organizing spree in my classroom and spend all of an early-release Wednesday afternoon tidying up... it feels so good!
3. I didn't know what my wedding band looked like until my husband slipped it on my finger at our wedding! It was a super surprise!
4. I cry at Publix commercials (the really sappy ones for Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, etc.).
5. I love grammar...I really love grammar (which is a good thing since I have to teach all the parts of speech and simple, compound, and complex sentences, etc. to my *3rd* graders!).
6. My class calls my husband, "Mr. Gorilla." I'll explain someday. ;)
7. I REALLY want to learn how to smock (website or book suggestions? Anyone?).

I would like to tag...... hmmmm... Erin and Lindsey. :)