The Simple Things

 Gorgeous January Weather

This Week's Menu Plan

This week's dinners are all from my fabulous recipe binder! Who knew there were so many good options in there? I will share these recipes with you throughout the week. Did you make a menu for this week? It definitely makes life easier at our House!

Awesome Weather Today!

There's a hole in the universe, I just know it...

So, Wednesday was crazy...

Around 2pm, I'm getting the boys settled down for their nap and I hear a crash. I figured it was Andrew being silly when he should be in bed. I hadn't even left the room yet. Well, he's right next to me saying "night-night" to Alex. Weird. What was that noise?

I go look in the office thinking something in my black hole of a closet crashed down. Nope. All is well.

Or is it...?

I go back in the boys room to give them a hug and - hmm, I thought that I turned that humidifer on already.

Oh, it is on...but not...

The power is completely out. 

I am texting one of our neighbors after leaving the boys for their nap, and her house is fine. Ugh...those guys out there messed up something... See, we have no cable in our neighborhood. We are a brand new neighborhood, so everyone here has satellite pretty much. The HOA finally decided that we needed it so that is why I said "those guys." They are digging to add the cable to each house... Awesome, right? Not. I don't know anyone who is switching to cable...

Anyway, I look out the window again trying to figure out what that crash was. Oh, I found out...this is what I see outside of the office window:

 Can you see that? Let's take a closer look...

 Um, yeah, that is the meter from MY house that flew off and hit my neighbor's house... 

Naptime is supposed to the be time when moms recharge their batteries. These guys apprently do not know this. LOL So I head on out to talk to them. 

Before I could even say a word (other than "hi")... They knew exactly what I was coming out for. Yep, boys, my power is gone. Dead. Done. And, I'm not positive, but I think my meter is now in my neighbors yard. Too funny. 

Apparently, what happened was their machine that digs the ditch (I'm still not entirely sure) grabbed my lines and tore them from the house. Wowza. They were all extremely nice and said that everything possible would be done to take care of the power and any damage.

Well, 4pm rolls around and no power still. Alabama Power still has not shown up. And, I get a dang splinter in my thumb from a railroad track while playing Thomas the Tank Engine with Andrew. Ugh...what else!?

A few knocks on the door later and I'm getting questions about if I can smell smoke in the house and if I knew there was a wildfire on the hill a few streets away. Seriously? This is why I just know there is a hole in the universe. I look at where they are pointing. Yup. There's a fire blazing a you can see the water from a few firetrucks shooting at it. Awesome. 

Jason gets home and talks to the guys (since we still have no power and Alabama Power finally shows up. They are putting us up at a hotel for the night since it is cold and we have the little ones and STILL NO POWER. That was very nice of them to do that. We are told on the way out that the power should be back on around midnight at the earliest. So we pack up some things and head out for dinner and a PJ party :)

 

Thrilled to be in a GIANT bed with 5000 pillows! He stayed up until about 930, I think...and had school the next day lol

 This little dude, on the other hand, couldn't make it quite that long. He was OUT at 8-something.

Jason said I was a dork for taking this pic...maybe so, but this is genius :)

The morning comes around and we have a message saying our power is back! YAY! So happy that all is good again :) At least until I get home after dropping Andrew off to check everything. Our living room TV - dead... The garage door opener - dead... And, worst of all (lol) MY WII IS DEAD!!

NOOOOOOOO!!!! NOT THE WII!!! I have to do my Zumba!! I have lost 3 pounds this week, people. I have got to get my Zumba on! 

Breath....

I go tell the guys (they all said good morning and made sure that things were fine and what not - so nice!)...they bring out their electrician guy and yup...all dead. 

It's ok...I am out of a tv and a wii and have to park in my driveway for now, but they did say that by tonight everything should be replaced (or handled as such so that all will be replaced - due to the garage door...by a certain date). 

See? A hole in the universe. It is not good when the Wii dies. lol. I know, I will get over it in a bit (when I have my new one and I'm 1/2 dead with my attempt at Latin dancing). 

But, out of all of this chaos, I must say that those guys out there are the most amazing, most polite, and most caring construction workers I have ever heard of. One or another came to check on me and the boys almost every hour until Jason got home Wednesday to make sure that everything was alright. They set us up for a hotel and dinner. They are replacing all the things that were damaged. I'm just amazed that these guys truly know the meaning of customer service. Thank you! I am glad someone still does!

Wordless Wednesday

Mamarazzi hehe

Recipe Organization

Finally!! I have ALL of my clippings and print-outs and cards organized! All in a pretty binder complete with labels, pocket dividers and OH! It is so pretty! Now I can actually cook some of those meals :) Exciting!

I dubbed January as Kitchen/Dining Month. All this month, I will be cleaning out and organizing areas that somehow have gotten neglected or bombarded over the year. I have a few places that need fixing... And! I even have some renovation to get done :) So excited for that day to come!!

Back to my fabulous recipe binder! Last month, one of my friends, Kelly, made her mom this AWESOME recipe binder (and wished she had made me one, too). It was amazing! Quotes about food on each of the divider page, pretty paper, the works!

After looking around on Pinterest for a while, I finally found the right place to go to:

Tiffany has some great ideas on organizing your recipe madness. I loved her pocket tab divider idea :) I just hope I don't about those pockets and end up having to reorganize what I organized...

A whole mess of recipes

 Ah, the organization of it all :) LOVE! Next week's menu plan is so coming from this exciting binder!

What do y'all think?

**Linking up with**
Skip to my Lou
Home Stories A to Z
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Today's Creative Blog
I Heart Naptime
Creatively Living
Tip Junkie 

Homemade Avocado-Tomato Salsa

How good does that dinner look? Jason LOVED this dinner. He really enjoyed last night's dinner, too! I got showered in compliments. It was pretty nice :) Andy wasn't too sure about the Shepherd's Pie, but he gave it to the goodness of it all.

So for tonight, we had a version Cayenne-Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa. I told you...I don't stick to recipes. I am not a big fan of spicy things, and Andy isn't too much of one either. So, instead of the 1/4 tsp cayenne, I substituted it for 1/8 tsp cayenne and 1/8 tsp paprika (to keep that rich red color). Also, I didn't use the recipe for the salsa AT ALL. I made my own and it was soooo goood!! This definitely goes into the "file" for a go-to meal. Ha...file...I really need to get going with my resolutions.

For the rest of this week's menu, click here. 

Avocado-Tomato Salsa

1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes (they were B1G1 at Publix this week!)
1/8 tsp paprika
S&P to taste
1/2 packet of Splenda
Couple of squirts of lemon juice

Mix it all up and let it chill in the fridge before serving. Enjoy!



**Linking up with**
Skip to my Lou
Home Stories A to Z
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Today's Creative Blog
I Heart Naptime
Creatively Living
Tip Junkie

January is Kitchen/Dining Month :)

Maybe I should have put "procrastinate more" on the top of my list. Then, I would feel a bit more accomplished. Lol, it is almost the 3rd... Time for life to get back to normal, right? Preschool starts up again and Jason heads back to work. So, yep, I do believe it is time. :)

I am appointing January as "Kitchen/Dining Month." That is actually what I was doing today and part of yesterday. Clearing out everything that doesn't go in the kitchen, isn't needed anymore, or isn't needed right now (i.e. all the Christmas stuff pretty much). It is sad really. The tops of my kitchen cabinets are bare now. I want to put some things up there!

I also worked a bit on our kitchen command center. I had it in a cabinet over there and a cabinet over here. I have had stuff on the counter, the fridge and a set of dry erase boards on a skinny wall. It is madness. Now, it has a home! On the back of my pantry double doors. It is wonderful. But, not finished. I will share soon. :)

I also am working on my cleaning routine. I am using the one that Becky @ Clean Mama has put out many times before and it is always awesome. She had a January Cleaning/Organizing challenge going on this month. Go see!

I have a few other things that I need/want to get done with the kitchen:


Add a backsplash

Fix my stupid light over the kitchen table. Seriously. It is stupid.

Fix the pantry light... I know...I may have to call someone...

Organize all my recipes that I have printed/clipped/etc

Get a larger crock pot

Anyhoo! That is January! What do you have going on this month?

Post-Christmas Fun

A couple days after Christmas, we headed to Jason's parent's home for more after Christmas fun. I did get a few really good pictures, but, unfortunately, I left my camera charger at home and could only use my camera on my phone. Grrr...packing with 2 kids and a dog, eh, could've been worse, right? lol.

Cheerios - Check. Tusker - Check. Movie - DOUBLE CHECK! :) 

Our "hot dog" - just too funny to not share this.

Andy opening a present :)

Alex's turn to open a present :)

The Popcorn Boys

Andy and Grandpa Dave playing with their favorite toys - TRAINS!! :) 

Dave, by the way, is AWESOME! He is always the one behind the camera and you rarely see him in any pictures. BUT!! I got him in a movie!! Hope you love it, Dave!

The Simple Things

The last picture of 2011!