Baby Bed Fun

Since we are expecting a baby, we must prepare for him.  My kind sister told me I could have the crib she used for my oldest niece.  Our mom had bought it for her from a flea market, and after Dawn used it, she stored it in a storage unit.  As you can imagine, it had gotten some wear by the time I got to it, so I decided to refinish it.  This has become a summer project.  I am 20 weeks today, so there’s still plenty of time to finish it.

Well, to refinish something, you must first take it apart and remove the hardware, which I’ve done.  The next step is to strip it of the original paint, varnish, and/or stain.  The best way to do this is through sanding, especially if you’re dealing with varnish and stain, which I am.

As you can imagine, sanding is a messy step, involving A LOT of dust.  Being pregnant, I’m constantly fighting with my nose and sinuses as it is, so today, I decided to tie a bandana around my nose and mouth to keep some of that dust out of my nose and throat.  My dear husband thought it was a funny sight, and I gave him permission to take some pictures.  This is his favorite.  Watch out for the “sanding bandit!”  (Crazy as I may look, my bandana worked.)

Once I get all the original varnish and stain off, I have to go back over all the pieces with a finer sandpaper to smooth it all out.  Then on to the staining.  A couple of coats of that and a couple of coats of varnish, and and the baby bed should be ready to piece back together.  Buy a mattress and some bedding, and it will be ready for our little boy!

P.S.  Thank you, John Wayne and the other cowboys from the numerous Westerns I’ve watched over my life for teaching me the many uses of bandanas.  😀

Giant Taco Braid

I’ve said it before.  My husband LOVES tacos!  If they don’t top his list of favorite foods, they come incredibly close.  I made this giant taco braid one night for supper, and he ate two portions and had leftovers later.  This is actually not too hard to make.  The “braiding” may be a bit time consuming, but it’s not too bad at all.

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Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs. hamburger meat
• 1 reg. size can petite diced tomatos
• 1/2 reg. size can refried beans
• taco seasoning to taste
• shredded cheddar cheese (or your flavor of choice)
• chili powder (optional)
• uncooked tortilla dough (use only about 2/3 – 3/4 of the dough the recipe makes)*

Directions:

1. Mix the tortilla dough.  Cover and let set while you make the taco meat.
2. Brown the hamburger meat in a skillet until thoroughly cooked.  Drain fat off, and put meat back in the pan.
3. Add taco seasoning and tomatoes to the meat.  If needed, use the tomato can and add about 3/4 can of water to mix the seasoning with the meat.  Let the mixture come to a boil, turn down heat some, and allow the water to cook out.
4. Once the water has cooked out of the meat, turn off the heat, add the beans, and mix until well blended.
5. While the meat is cooling some, roll out the tortilla dough in a rectangular shape.  Place on a large, un-greased cookie sheet.  The entire sheet should be covered.
6. Carefully spoon the meat onto the dough. Place in a log form down the middle of the dough.
7. Sprinkle liberally with the cheese and chili powder.
8. Using a knife, cut diagonal 1-inch strips on down each side of the meat.  (The cuts on the ends should go out towards the corners of the dough from the corners of the meat “log.”  This should form a sort of triangle of the ends of the dough.  Also, cut the same amount of strips on each side.)
9. Fold the ends of the dough like you’re wrapping a baby up in a blanket.  Then, fold the strips from the sides across the meat, alternating left and right to form a braided look.
10. Bake in a 350-degree oven until dough is cooked through, about 15-20 mins.
11. Cool, slice, serve, and enjoy!

*Because tortilla dough is used, it won’t take long to cook, and the crust will be dry, like a tortilla.  It may look like a pie crust, but it’s not.  Although, if you want a crust that is more buttery and moist, pie crust dough or croissant dough could be used instead. Just adjust the cooking technique as needed.

**The recipe for tortilla dough can be found here:  https://crystalpoe.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/taco-empanadas-and-flour-tortillas/.

And We’re Expecting…

A baby boy!  My husband and I went to our mid-term ultrasound on Friday, and we found out that our little bundle will be decked out in blue.  We both really thought we were going to have a girl, so it came as a quite a surprise.  But once the shock wore off, we got excited about our little feller.  They did all the measurements, checked out the fluid and placenta, and all looks good.  He was moving around and didn’t want to give up his secret without a fight.  I wasn’t real sure if we were going to find out, but towards the end of the ultrasound, the tech was able to get a good view to tell us that he is a he.

We don’t have a name yet, nor do we have any grand plans for the nursery.  My darling husband doesn’t have much of an opinion on the matter, so I’m thinking of doing the colors in light green and dark brown with a few teddy bears thrown in for good measure.  We just want something that can be used again for a boy or a girl and that is simple.  Personally, I’m not that good at coming up with themes and going with them.

Mid-November, watch out world because we will be adding another bouncing baby boy to the ranks!

Daddy’s Cornbread

Growing up, we often had pinto beans, cornbread, and fried potatoes for supper.  For one thing it was cheap; for another it was simple.  Put some dry beans in a pot with water, seasonings, onion, pepper, and a chunk of ham or bacon, bring it to a boil, and let that bad boy simmer the rest of the day.  Or just dump all of the above in a crock pot and let it cook all day that way.  About 45 minutes before supper is served, whip up some cornbread, bake it for about a half hour, and fry up some potatoes and onions in the mean time.  Simple, filling, and economical.

We had a potluck today at church, and I forgot about it until the last minute.  That left me with trying to make something with what we already had at the house.  After a search, I decided beans and cornbread was the menu of the night.  I may have gotten the beans a little spicy, but the cornbread was a hit, which meant that it warrented its own blog post.

Now, here’s a fun little story about this cornbread.  One afternoon (probably a Saturday), my daddy was outside building piers for the house addition he and my stepmom had in the plans.  He called me outside and said to bring a pencil and paper.  As he was carefully constructing a pier out of concrete and rocks, he gave me this cornbread recipe off the top of his head and had me to make up a batch.  It wasn’t that he had memorized this recipe from his mama’s recipe box.  With each ingredient, he used words such as “about.”  I’ve just always been impressed by his and many other people’s ability to guesstimate a recipe and to not really use measuring cups, just eye-ball it.  And now that I’ve related this little story, I’ll let you in on my daddy’s cornbread recipe.

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup oil
• buttermilk (You can use regular milk if that’s all you have, or you can make your own sour milk using vinegar:  1 tbsp. vinegar to 1 cup milk.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
2. Grease a 9-inch cast iron skillet or an 8×11-inch baking dish.  (It tastes better in an iron skillet.)
3. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients together well.
4. Add eggs, oil, and buttermilk.  (The buttermilk is the tricky part.  Start with one cup.  You want the batter to be fairly thin, about like cake or brownie batter, not soupy but not lumpy.  Batter, not dough.  It may take closer to one and a half cups of buttermilk.)
5. Cook until golden brown (20-30 minutes).
6. Serve warm with butter!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

You’re reading a blog, so I’m assuming you’ve done your share of lurking on Pinterest.  Heaven knows that I have, and the other day, I ran across a pin of these cookies.  The original recipe can be found at this address (Yet another blog.):  http://picky-palate.com/2011/06/30/chocolate-peanut-butter-sandwiches-from-disneyland/.  Apparently you can buy these cookies at Disney Land, but I’ve never been there.  If you have, then you may have had one of these cookies.  If you haven’t, then maybe you’ve had a supermarket copy.  Graham crackers smeared with peanut butter and dipped in chocolate.  These are yummy!

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Ingredients:

• 12 graham cracker squares (I broke 6 rectangle crackers in half.)
• 3 cups milk chocolate chips (real chocolate, not imitation)
• 2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 4 tbsp. shortening (I forgot to add this, so apparently it’s not overly important.)

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate and shortening over a double-boiler.  (Like I said, I didn’t use shortening, and everything worked out fine.  It’s up to you.)
2. Dip each graham cracker in chocolate.  Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  Let set up in the freezer.
3. Spread 2 tbsp. of peanut butter on top of each graham cracker.  Place crackers back in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
4. Spoon chocolate on top of the peanut butter, and use a knife to “seal” the edges.  Place in the freezer again about 10 minutes to set up.
5. Store in a gallon-size baggie in the refridgerator to keep chocolate from melting.

*I have not tried it, but you might could add about a 1/3 bar of paraffin wax to the chocolate when it’s melting.  This helps the chocolate to stay hard when not chilled.  We used this when making chocolate candies (such as turtles) at Christmas when I was growing up.

Soda “Cake”

Although our baby isn’t born yet, I decided that my husband needed a Father’s Day gift.  I recently told him he is at once the easiest and the hardest person to buy for because his one hobby is games.  He also really likes candy.  I can get him clothes, but he would not be impressed with the gift, grateful but not impressed.  He really likes video games, and I know nothing of them.  I’m not a big board/card game player, so it’s almost pointless to buy him one of those.  That basically leaves snacks and candy, and I can’t do that for every gift!  However, for this Father’s Day, I decided that our funds declared that snacks were way to go.  (Not to mention, our baby is still “cooking,” so I figured it should just be something fun.)

I found this idea on Pinterest a couple of days before Father’s Day and thought it was really cute.  Now, I’m no great shakes with numbers, so I did ask My Honey how many cans he thought were used.  He guessed 24, and I went with that.  This is a really simple gift to make, is relatively inexpensive, and looks rather impressive.  It would make a fun “secret pal” gift, too.

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Supplies:

• 24 canned drinks
• Ribbon
• Cardboard circles
• Big gift bow (unless you know how to make one with the ribbon, which looks nicer)
• Sturdy tray to build “cake” on (I used a solid pizza pan.)

Directions:

1. On the tray, arrange 12 canned drinks in a circle for the bottom “tier.”  Set three more drinks inside the circle.  The bottom “tier” has 15 drinks total.
2. Cut a circle out of cardboard, about 11 inches in diameter.  Place circle on top of the “tier” of drinks.
3. Arrange 6 drinks in a circle in the center of the cardboard.
4. Cut a second circle out of cardboard, about 4 1/2 inches in diameter.  Place circle on top of second “tier” of drinks.
5. Arrange final 3 drinks in a circle on top of cardboard for the final “tier.”
6. Tie ribbon around each ring of drinks.  Place the bow on top of the “cake.”

*I also placed a box of M&M’s and a package of Hostess cupcakes along side the second ring to hide the extra cardboard.  You can also paint or glue scrapbook paper to the cardboard if you want it to look nicer, or you can buy the cardboard circles that are used in cake decoration.  Just dress it up however you wish!

Happy Father’s Day

Today we celebrate our fathers.  They are the the leaders of our homes, the strength of the family, and the wisdom that guides us.  Fathers, in our individual families, are what our Lord is for us all.  Leading us, strengthening us, and revealing His wisdom to us.  I found this poem that honors our dads, daddies, pops, papas, fathers, or whatever you call your father.  Thank you, fathers, for protecting, providing for, and caring for your wives and children.  May God bless each of you!

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What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,

The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,

The power of the eagle’s flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,

The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity,

The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities,

When there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete,

And so, He called it … Dad.

– Author Unknown

Sugar Butter Cookies

There are very few people who do not enjoy a classic sugar cookie.  I enjoy them, my husband does, and, after yesterday afternoon, I believe it’s safe to say my church family enjoys them.

My husband takes his lunch at least 4 out of 5 days to work.  I always try to have some cookies made to send with him.  He had just finished up some chocolate chip cookies last week, so it was cookie-making time.  He requested plain and simple sugar cookies.  I’ve got several cook books, so I also have many, many sugar cookie recipes to choose from.  I have one that’s good for cut-out cookies that are fun to make around Christmas with icing and sprinkles, but this one is more of a drop cookie.  It’s a very simple recipe that makes a dough too thin for rolling and cutting out.  You just make a small dough ball for each cookie, roll it around in some sugar, place on a cookie sheet, flatten, and bake.

Though I try not to brag, I have to admit these cookies are super soft, sweet, just plain yummy!  I had several compliments on these cookies from church members yesterday.  I will say, though, the key to soft cookies is not cooking them too long.  Also, if you have an electric oven, you may find it helpful to turn the oven down 25-degrees, raise the rack to one notch above center, and watch them closely the last couple of minutes.  Just a few helpful hints that I’ve learned (the hard way).

Now, I did not come up with this recipe on my own.  I’m not sure where it came from, but chances are good that it’s from the back of a sugar bag.  Well, I won’t keep you in suspense any longer; here’s the recipe!

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, room-temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 scant tsp. salt
• 1 cup oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Beat butter, powdered sugar, and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl.  Mix it well so that the butter clumps back together.
2. Add eggs.  Beat well.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.  Add to butter-sugar mixture alternately with oil.  (I did this in quarters:  1/4 of flour mixture, 1/4 oil, 1/4 flour mixture, 1/4 oil, etc.)
4. Add vanilla.
5. Chill dough (30 minutes-1 hour)
6. Form dough into little balls, roll in granulated sugar, and mash out with the end of a glass or with tines of a fork.
7. Bake 10 minutes at 350-degrees.

Biloxi Vacation (Pt. 2)

I bet you can’t guess what we did on the Tuesday (the second day) during our vacation!  😉

We went to the beach!  I took this shot while standing in the edge of the water, looking East.  You can see a hotel/casino there in the background.  And yes, that is My Honey there in the ocean.

We woke fairly early in the morning.  (It always is hard to sleep in a bed that’s not your own.)  We got ourselves dressed, and headed to the breakfast room of the hotel to partake in the continental breakfast.  Why eat cold pop tarts when you can have a fresh Belgian waffle and cold milk, especially when it’s no extra charge?

After breakfast, we went back to the room for a bit, gathered the picnic things, Nic got some ice from the machine for our cooler, and we headed for the water!  We got there before 9 o’clock in the morning, which is apparently quite early.  The beach is free and always open, but we did end up near one of those beach chair rental shacks.  Apart from the three guys “setting up shop,” we were the only ones there.  I found that a little nerve-racking, but only because I felt so conspicuous to Shack guys.  I know they weren’t paying us any mind, but I am what I am….

I digress.  Well, we set up our camp, so to speak.  We had an old blanket we laid out, set down our ice chest and picnic bag, I put some sunscreen on Nic, and we commenced to building a sand “castle.”  We spent the next two or three hours going out into the water, building more onto our sand village, and taking pictures.  I say “we” went into the water, but really it was just Nic who went into the water.  I walked out into it a bit, but I only ever got wet from the knees down.  I actually got a little scared when faced with water as far out as I could see.  (And I was still feeling quite self-conscious.)  I’m not the greatest swimmer, and this was only the second time I remember having gone to the beach in my life.  And though I’ve seen bigger waves at lakes than there were at Biloxi that day, my imagination could not let go of the thought of getting swept out to sea forever.  Without buoy lines marking off the swimming area, I knew there was still the faintest possibility of it happening…granted, not that day in that weather, but still.

About halfway through our visit at the beach, a funny-ish thing happened.  I was standing in the edge of the water, trying to stay away from the minnow-like fish that kept trying to eat my legs and feet.  (It didn’t hurt, but I was finding it annoying.)  As I stood there looking out over the water, watching My Honey dip into the water, I felt something hit my face.  I thought it was bug, so I swatted at it.  Something fell into the water.  When I looked back up, everything was half-blurry.  One of the lenses in my glasses had fallen into the water!  Though the waves could never wash me out to see, for real, they could sure take a lens for cruise.  By that point, my husband was back at the shore with me, and thankfully, he was able to catch it from the water before it was lost to Davy Jones Locker forever.  Sadly, however, I was not able to fix the glasses, so I went the next 3 1/2 days with blurry vision.  Don’t worry, though, I am now wearing my back up glasses until we can get them fixed.

We had a good time, though, even me with all my imaginations.  After spending the morning in the water (or near it, in my case), we ate our picnic lunch, then packed up our things and headed back to the hotel.  We rested for a bit in the room, watching TV, uploading pictures to the computer, playing video games, and then we decided we wanted to go to the pool.  We grabbed our towels and headed out.

This time I did get in the water.  We splashed around, playing some kind of water tag, and just having a good time.  I’m not sure how long we were out there, but it was a good while.  Then we went back to our room, took showers, and got ready for supper.

We headed East in search of food.  Our drive took us over the Biloxi Bay Bridge, out of Biloxi and into another small town on the bayou.  We wandered around, tried and failed to find a parking space at a chicken buffet, and ended up at a resteraunt called McElroy’s.  The dining room was lovely.  It had two walls of windows, looking out over the bayou.  It was evening, and the lighting outside made everything look peaceful and calm.  It wasn’t sunset yet, but the sun was behind us in the West, so everything was starting to have a little bit of golden hue.  The food was good, the service was good, and we thoroughly enjoyed our supper there.  Afterwards, we drove back to the hotel, with me snapping pictures from the car along the way.  We spent the rest of our evening in the room, just lounging around before heading to bed.

The sunset from the Biloxi Bay Bridge on the way back to the hotel room.

Congratulations, Graduates!

Between my husband and myself, we have had FIVE cousins graduate this spring!  I didn’t even realize most of them were graduating until it was basically happening.  (That’s quite terrible of me, I know.)  Anyway, this isn’t about me, but about these incredibly smart people who are going forward and entering adulthood.  Granted, one of them was graduating with his Associate’s Degree, but he is transfering to a four-year university to finish up getting his Bachelor’s Degree.  I thought I might recognize these folks because it is a great thing to graduate high school (or college) and move on to a whole new world.  I will start with Robbie, then move on to Allie, Lindsey, Gaby, and finish up with Nathaniel.

Robbie:  This is one of Nic’s cousins.  He is also the only college grad in the group.  He is going to complete his degree in some sort of computer science program here in Arkansas.  I am not entirely sure where he wants to work, but computers are pretty much beyond me 99% of the time.  So I find his choice of degree to be quite impressive.  He is a smart guy.  He also holds down a part-time job, which can be difficult when taking college classes, especially when those classes involve any math, science, or technology more advanced than a #2 pencil.  Great job, Robbie, and God bless you as you continue your education.

Allie:  She is also Nic’s cousin.  (To keep this simple, Nathaniel is my only cousin in this bunch.)  She graduated from being home schooled her senior year.  She had spent time in several different types of schools over the years because of family moves.  She is a quiet, polite, smart, good Christian girl, who is going to start college in the fall, majoring in accounting.  (Nic’s family happens to be good with numbers and technical stuff.)  However, she does have strong interests in writing, so much so that she plans on minoring in English.  😀  She graduated with great marks, even earned a scholarship, and has very bright future ahead of her.  God bless you, Allie, as you start your college career.

Lindsey:  Lindsey also graduated from being home schooled.  In fact, Allie and Lindsey’s mamas put together a special graduation celebration for them that occured yesterday.  (It was very well done!  Go Dana and Andrea!)  She also had good marks.  She has decided after much prayer, thoughts, and talking with her parents to not go to college, but to start a home-based business, instead, with her mama, making homemade soaps, lotions, and other bath goodies, along with some baked goodies, too.  They have recently begun selling chocolate gravy mix.  She also writes a blog (among other things) and helps out with chores around the house and helps with babysitting duties and spends time with her two younger sisters (one is much younger).  God bless you, too, Lindsey, with all your future plans.

Gaby:  Gaby graduated from high school a couple of nights ago.  She lives in another state, so we don’t get to see her very often.  However, she also did well in her classes, and I know she’s got big plans, too.  Just like everyone in this little list, she is a good Christian.  I’m not sure what all she is planning on doing since she’s graduated, but I pray God’s blessings on her, too.

Nathaniel:  Now, to my cousin.  He graduated this weekend as well with honors.  He has done very well in school, and he plans on continuing that success in the Marines.  He will very soon be heading to California for boot camp, from which he should graduate in September.  He has already been spending time volunteering at the Marine base near his home and has made a good impression on the men there.  Nathaniel, God bless you and keep you safe wherever in this world your future takes you.

Congratulations to each and every graduate out there!  You have worked hard, earned your diplomas and degrees, and are ready to take the next step.  I just hope that each of you, if you have not already, will consider the future beyond this world.  There is one out there, and it has only two options:  Heaven or Hell.  There is no waiting ground for you to hang out in after death as you finish making your decision.  You die, and you’re in one place or the other.  Now is the time to decide.  Now is all the time you are guaranteed.  I saw on the news recently how a young man graduated from high school on Friday night, and on Saturday night was shot and killed, seemingly at random.  He was at the wrong place at the wrong time.  This may seem a weird way to wrap up a post congratulating the graduates in my family, but I know that each of them have made a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  I have all the evidence I can have that their futures are secure in God and Heaven.  You, however, may not have that security.  I pray that this little post will touch your heart, not by my great writing talents, but by God’s Holy Spirit.  Jesus paid for your sins, the ball is in your court now.  Don’t drop it.

P.S.  It was brought to my attention by my sister that I had yet another cousin graduate high school this year.  Her name is Stephanie, and I am pretty sure she received her diploma in December, which would be why I forgot her.  (That’s no excuse, though.)  I’m not sure what she has planned, but I think she is holding off on college for now, though I could be wrong.  Congratulations, Steph, and may God bless you as well!