Under The Weather

Kiddo has not felt well since we got home on Wednesday evening.  His body aches, he has chills, and his throat has even been sore.  He woke up during the night and I gave him some cold and flu tablets to help with his aches.  It is 12:30 and he is still sleeping.

We are having REVIVAL with Life Action Ministries at our church until April 4th, and I don't want to miss anything.  God is doing an amazing work in our church and in our family.  Tomorrow is the "Family Cafe" and we have been looking forward to it all week.  However, it is my responsibility to take care of my precious blessing from God, and make him comfortable and get him through this yuck.....My Skippy Man can fill me in later if we need to stay home.

Please join me in praying he will wake up feeling much better!

Scripture And A Snapshot

"You kill the prophets! You stone those who are sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you refused!"

Matthew 23:37  

I am linking up today with Katie Lloyd Photography for "Scripture & A Snapshot."  If  you would like to participate . . . . .

1.  Select a photo

2.  Add a scripture to it

3.  Put the Scripture & A Snapshot button in your post

4.  Visit Katie Lloyd Photography by clicking HERE and add your link to your POST!

Homemade Lime Tortilla Chips

I absolutely LOVE lime tortilla chips but absolutely HATE paying almost $4.00 a bag for them.  The other night while we were at the grocery store and I saw a bag of chips.  Hmmm.......I just know I can find a recipe for those and make my own, so that's what I did.  It was so easy, I don't think I will ever buy them again, unless they are on sale and I can get them at some ridiculously  low price.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

10 corn tortilla chips
1/4 cup lime juice
2 teaspoons kosher salt

Cut the tortillas into quarters (I cut mine into eighths) and dip into lime and salt mixture.  Lay your pieces out on a cooling rack to dry COMPLETELY!  Deep fry in oil of choice.  Now wasn't that easy?

ENJOY!

I Can't Believe He Ate The Whole Thing......Well, Almost!

Kiddo and I went to Taco Bell yesterday while Skippy had a Little League meeting. I wouldn't say he was hungry or anything, would you?

He certainly put up a valiant effort to eat all 12, but after about 15 minutes, he had to stop at 10.  On the way out to the car, chuckled and said..........

"I don't think I'll try and eat that many tacos again..........lesson already learned!"

ROFLOL!  

Blueberry Crumbcake

Blueberries are a favorite of My Skippy Man's, so yesterday, I was trying to think of a special dessert just for him.  He LOVES crumb cake, so I decided to look for a recipe for Blueberry Crumb Cake.  I found one from Ina Garten, "The Barefoot Contessa" on the foodnetwork website.  It is yummy and the crumbs on top are SCRUMPDILLYICIOUS!!  I have made crumb cakes before but my crumbs NEVER come out right.  This crumb recipe is one I will use from now on, whatever cake/pie/goody I bake that requires them.

I made two changes to this recipe; the first was using regular butter instead of unsalted butter, and I used vanilla yogurt instead of the sour cream.

To make this recipe, you will need the following:

Ingredients

For the streusel:

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted (do not substitute with margarine)
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the cake:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick) (do not substitute with margarine)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the streusel:

Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. 

Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers,
crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

This recipe yields 6-8 servings.  Unless of course you live in my house, then that number drastically reduces!  LOL

ENJOY!!

Wedding Pic Sneak Peek

This past weekend, my sister and her two children, Goose, Kiddo, and I, went on a whirlwind trip to Texas for my niece's wedding.  And let me tell you, she was one GORGEOUS BRIDE!!!  We left on Thursday morning and come back on Sunday, with no time to stop and breathe in between.  We arrived at the hotel long enough to get out things up to the room and turn around and go.  We hit the ground running and didn't stop until we got home around 9:00 am Monday morning.  WHEW....I don't think I'll be doing another road trip like that for quite awhile!

I am so excited to have started a facebook page called, "Simply Blessed Photography."  I thought the name was fitting because that's what I am.....SIMPLY BLESSED!!  

I have put these pictures up as a "Sneak Peek" for my niece, but will only post the rest of the pics after she has looked at them.  I shared them with my family and also wanted to share them with my blogging family as well.

CONGRATULATIONS, 

MR. & MRS. C!

This one in B&W is my FAVORITE! 

What's On The Menu

Tonight's dinner on the farm:

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Oven Fries

40 Minute Hamburger Buns

Dessert:
S'mores

(This menu is subject to change at any given moment!)

Too Funny

Quite a few years when My Skippy Man started to work for a major poultry plant, I came across a hand stenciled wooden sign at a yard sale. Because of where he worked, I just HAD to get the sign.

Last week, when I went to get some things from the house, I found the sign and I just had to bring back with me. I wanted to hang it up in the coop but I couldn't find the find the hammer and nails, so outside the porch door is where it sits.

While I was outside yesterday taking pictures of the ladies, I turned around and found one of my cutie pies, sitting right along side of it, sunbathing.....TOO FUNNY! 
 

A Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY. . . . . .

Outside my window... this morning we had a light rain, but now it is sunny and warm, with a gentle breeze blowing

I am thinking... there is so much I want to do in the yard already.  Thinking about where to put the garden

I am thankful... for my salvation, for the love of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, my family, and for My Skippy Man.....I truly don't deserve them!

I am creating... some new clothespins, making patterns for my clothespin bags, and designing a quilt for me.  I normally don't keep what I  make, so I decided to make one for myself this time

I am hoping... the pictures I took at my niece's wedding came out.  I left my computer in my sister's van when she dropped me off this morning, so I haven't had a chance to look at them

I am looking forward to... enjoying a nice quiet evening with My Skippy Man.  We have been gone since Thursday morning.........I have missed him terribly!

I am pondering... I was actually pondering a couple of things:  

1 - Why do phone companies give you a number to call if your phone doesn't work?

2 - Why does unscented hairspray smell? 

3 - What is Mother Goose's real first name?  

4 - How do they unclog mail chutes in skyscrapers?

A quote for today... 

"If you tickle the earth with a hoe she laughs with a harvest!"  - Douglas William Jerrold 

One of my favorite things...old barns, they have such amazing stories to tell

A few plans for the rest of the week...unpack from our trip, clean up the yard, take donations to the thrift store, plant some seeds

A peek into my day... 

I just LOVE my ladies!!!  Meredith, one of our seven Amberlink hens, really enjoys sunbathing.  Here she had just finished her soak, and is now enjoying the pretty daffodils

To join Peggy and the others in this meme, please click HERE!

Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention

I have needed a clothesline since we moved here, but the trees are either too far apart or not far enough apart.  So yesterday......I came up with a solution to my problem..................

Kiddo and I found two of the longest branches we could find and placed them across both ends of the deck.  Hey, you do whatcha gotta do, right?  LOL  I couldn't wait till Skippy got home so I could see the look on his face when he saw our homemade clothesline.....I just know he'd love it!   :D

SIMPLY BLESSED

Have you ever prayed to God that He would give you some idea of what direction your life should take? Have you ever told Him the desires of your heart? Have you seriously prayed for the Lord to make clear to you if those desires are His will for you life? 

As a most of you know I LOVE photography, and if you ask my family, they will tell you that I am rarely seen without my camera.  It was a desire of my heart to one day go into the photography business, but as you know, a good camera can be very expensive.  We have an old Sony that has done an incredible job, considering the only setting that worked well was the action setting.   However, that doesn't work very well if you are doing a wedding and you need to take rapid shots.  lol

After a good while of trying to save for a new camera and lenses, I started to feel that perhaps even though this was a desire of my heart, it may not have been what God intended for me.  So, I put it to prayer and laid it at the Lord's feet.

"Father, my love for photography and desire to use it in a way that will glorify You and have some sort of ministry with it, please show me in a way that I will know that it IS Your will for me to continue.  If it is not, please close this door!"  

Two weeks ago, a precious photographer friend from church was going to let me borrow her camera to photograph my nieces wedding.  She told me that after thinking about a conversation we had, that I was right......that it's not like borrowing someone's car that has insurance.  She said she was sorry but she didn't think it was a good idea for me to borrow her camera and that I really needed to take my own. I said I understood and that it was ok.  She looked at me again and said, "Every photographer needs to have a good camera!"  And with that, she handed me a camera bag, and inside that camera bag, was a BEAUTIFUL camera with two lenses, an extra battery and charger, a flash, and a USB cable to upload pics to the computer.  I am so excited, so amazed, I honestly don't have the words to describe how I feel, other than I am SIMPLY BLESSED!   When I asked her why she had given me such an amazing gift, she said God whispered in her ear and she needed to be obedient.

When we follow God's leading and we are obedient........He not only blesses the receiver of our obedience, but He blesses US more than we could ever imagine!

40-Minute Hamburger Buns

I have not had a chance to bake anything from scratch since we moved, but the other night I made Skippy and Kiddo bacon and cheddar Angus burgers I got at Sharp Shopper for $3.99.  What a deal at almost half the price you pay in the grocery store.

I have been making these hamburger buns for awhile now and my family LOVES them!  I posted this pic on facebook the other night and some of my friends asked me for the recipe.  I thought I had already posted it here on my blog, but realized the other night that I hadn't, so here it is.

I use this recipe when I need hot dog rolls and rolls for my BBQ sandwiches....YUMMMY!

This recipe is very easy and takes about half the time as most bun recipes.  For one dozen buns, you will need the following:

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (110° to 115°)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil and sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the egg, salt and enough flour to form a soft dough.
• Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes. Do not let rise. Divide into 12 pieces; shape each into a ball. Place 3 in. apart on greased baking sheets.
• Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Bake at 425° for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: 1 dozen.

We LOVE to eat these rolls hot and fresh right out of the oven.  Sometimes they don't even make it to the table!  :>)

ENJOY!

Settling In

We are settling in nicely into our new home. There are still some things to do at the old one, but the majority of it is finished.  We are waiting on our donated items to be picked up and TRYING to get the last of our things out.  It is difficult with only having one car, but it will get done.

Someone asked me if I would give a little tour once we got unpacked, so I thought I would do that today.  Each day, I try and unpack something else.  As I have been unpacking the things that I thought I couldn't live without, I find myself going...."WHY, DID I THINK I NEEDED THIS?"....and out it goes. Since we have been here, I have filled six more boxes of things to donate.  WOO HOO!

 

This morning we woke up to a light snow fall, and it is still going.  Unfortunately, the weather service said it is supposed to turn to rain by this afternoon....BOO!  lol

I still have some things I want to put up on the walls but had to wait for My Skippy Man to return from France.  He had an AMAZING TIME!  He said he LOVED IT there and could live there if given the chance.  Hasn't he learned yet to be careful about what he says?  lol

As soon as I get the bedrooms done, I'll post pics of them too!

HAVE A MARVELOUS MONDAY!