SOMEone I KNOW

...is in the hospital recovering from an explosion in their home.
...is having surgery tomorrow
...is getting a raise this week
...is maybe getting a new car
...wants to ride his dirtbike
...is learning to life without a boyfriend
...wants a Ipod touch for Christmas
...went hiking for the weekend
...is on a cruise this very minute
...is getting dressed to go out
...is helping out at church
...is at a funeral

If you

...were to visit our house you would be greeted by our two puppies, Emma Sue and Macy Claire.

...were to wake up after sun rise at our house you would be there alone.

...look at our front door you would find muddy puppy dog toe marks.

...were to visit our house you would find our kitchen faucet is slightly broken.

... were to visit me at work you would see all the buttons and 7 computer monitors that I stare at all day.

...wanted a drink of milk you would have to decide between white 2%, organic vanilla soy, organic chocolate soy or regular chocolate.

...looked in our kitchen you would find a large aloe vera plant on the floor.

...you were to watch TV with G you would watch the history channel, sci-fi or weather channel.

...picked up our mail you would find several college flyers for monster 1.

...you sat in our dining room you would find it very peaceful compared to the rest of the house.

...you looked at our back patio you would see a fountain that we didn't even open this summer.

Thanks for viewing

Baseball

One bright

and sunny

Saturday

I take some photos of a friend's son playing Fall Ball.

Baseball is so quiet
compared to
motocross.

I love the energy of the coach.

I had fun but still love the speed of my boys and their bikes.

m y d A y

Today Brittany over at 4 little men and girly twins listed her daily events so I thought I do mine and see what I come up with. Even though we live in different states, different worlds we ALL do the same thing every day just a little not quite the same.
So here is my day... I am going to update this post as the day goes on.. pretty boring so far.
G and Monster1 left for Ohio State

Before I was out of bed. I saw the alarm panel flashing that the front door was open.. who could that be?

Monster2 and his two friends left to go ride (dirtbikes) So early? No breakfast?

Let the dogs out.

Look around the house for the disaster

Skim blogs and tell Baxter that he is a handsome little kitty

Text Monster2 to be careful and to wear his Leatt Brace

Turn Yahoo radio to Coffeehouse

Get Caffeine in my system

Get text back stating "I will"

Pick up left over smoothie glasses from last night

Start dishwasher and hand was a few glasses

Update this entry.. what's next?

Did a few more dishes by hand.

Looked up squash recipes.

Decided dinner meal/ pork chops and baked acorn and butternut squash.

So while looking for recipes Monster1 tells me that 10 girls are coming for dinner tomorrow night and to spend the night for Senior day.. Atleast she picked something easy.. Lasagna/ Salad and Bread.. I can handle that.

Okay off to do my list.. clean..clean.. clean frig.. make bread.. go to grocery..sweep..laundry.. gotto go.

Cleaned frig. shower.. flip laundry

Accidently used Clorox on Monster1's $60.00 shirt.. Why is she buying 60.00 shirts?

Lunch/ Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup and a glass of milk

Took the trash out

Made wheat bread

Clean frig

Cleaned downstairs bath

Swept and mopped entry

Went to grocery, saw 2 family members

Made dinner, salad, fruit salad, set table

Dishes

Laundry

Cleaned basement, swept pool table, moved weight bench

Changed cat pan

Gave Emma her heartworm pill

Picked up craft room

Let dogs in / out a thousand times

Watched a bit of Rain Man

Played a minute on Frontierville

Oh I think that's it.. I'm ready for bed

So tell me what's your day like.

Night all.

Just Because

I haven't posted in a while and I decided today I would "just because."



Here are a few things about me that you might not know..



1. I love love love new socks.



2.I love clean sheets.



3. My first concert was .38 Special and Honeymoon Suite, my last AC/DC at age 40.. Oh, I'm such a party animal.



4. My favorite Jelly Bean is "Juicy Pear"



5. My favorite color is Black




6. I feel like a real person when I'm not working midnights.



7. I was born with Hip Dysplasia. And my xrays kind of look like this



8. I never had a dog while growing up.



9. A guy on a motorcycle told me today that my land yacht had a brake light out..G fixed it..



10. My hair is almost all gray at age 40 something.

My Sunday

Last Sunday we drove to Pusheta Creek in Northern Ohio. We had never been there so it was a treat to find a great track. I took about 900 pictures so I thought I'd share a few with you. This was looking at the track from out parking spot. A great picture if I have to say so myself of a quad rider. I love this pic.

My baby boy jumping.

Drake takin a corner.

I love motocross. I don't think there is anywhere else in the world I'd rather be than watching my son ride.

Holiday Marshmellows

Last weekend monster #3 went to a sleepover so her sister and I threw together a few chocolate covered marshmellos. I guess kids were grabbing them as she got out of the car.

Feedback was that they were a hit.. I guess drizzled chocolate and sprinkles on marshmellows are a keeper.

Scew stick or sucker sticks

Marshmellows

Melting waivers or chocolate bark

Sprinkles..

easy peasy..

Welcome Halloween Tablescape

Well fall is among us and it's time for my tablescapes to come back to life. I had big plans on doing more this year but never got around to it so here is my first for the season.

HalloweenA friendly spider hanging out on a plate.

Jars of fire balls and eye ball gum.
I got these napkins rings last year at Kohl's they were like .74 cents each. I put them around black paper napkins beeecause.. years ago I threw out my black cloth napkins and just never replaced them.. I know I shouldn't throw stuff away.

I got these candles this year and had a few more than candle holders so I stuck them in some coffee beans and a small mason jar.

I bought this cheezy vinyl tablecloth at Big Lots for like 3.oo.. The kids like it.

Some popcorn balls

I found a bag of plastic bugs and put the rings on the stemware as wine glass charms.. every glass is different.

I had seen these spider candle holders somewhere before but found them on sale at Big Lots this year....

More napkins

That's it for this years Halloween tablescape.. I can't wait til mOnday when I can pull out the fall/ Thanksgiving stuff.

bOOoOoooo!!!!

autopost

Different Journey

Lately I have been on a different journey. I felt terrible, I hurt (in my bones) and working midnights and sleeping during the day was draining me to no end. So we have been experimenting with natural, organic and whole foods. I even discovered that my favorite Apple Salsa is a raw food. Raw means (no cooking). A few weeks ago G and I stopped at Trader Joe's. What a neat little market. Everything is organic, natural and the Trader Joe's version of food had no chemicals, no preservatives and no MSG. We were surprised at the low cost of most items. We bought more than we expected to and today I went back for more. Here is my loot. 87.38 worth.. Now about 20 of that was for candy which I wouldn't have normally bought but with Easter fast approaching I thought I would make the monster's baskets with a little bit healthier junk than normal. I got these noodles for .99 and the sun flower seeds 1.49. I found that I like these Pure- organic Cherry Cashews bars they are a little pricey but I like them. 1.49 each. I bought Stevia for 6.99 for this big bottle. Stevia is a natural sweetener. This is not the organic cause it was more. I will use this in smoothies, tea and anything else that don't need a lot of sugar.


Bag of Limes (1.99) and a bag of Lemons (1,49)
Organic Kiwi 1.99

Organic bananas- .29 each and Organic baby carraots 1.69

D is loving the orgain Chocolate Brownie Clif bars.

I bought some cinnamon 1.99. All their spices are 1.99. Much cheaper than Krogers. Now they don't have a big selection but I have most of them now and love the Pink Himalayan Salt.

Oh and one of the girls showed me these cute little things. Chocolate covered sunflower seeds. Great for Easter Baskets. They were more and I won't buy them every time but for Easter I splurged. 3.49

And I got G some Peanut butter cookies cause he is having sweet withdrawl. A Kale green smoothie is just not getting if for him.

Carrots and Broccoli really cheap and organic.NICE

Organic Soy milk- throw some of this and bananas in a blender or smoothie machine and the kids love it. I also add Protein powder, Fiber and ground Flax seed. They request it.

Oh Oh the Very Green nasty looking crap.. I had asked the cashier where the candy was and as we were talking I mentioned that I tried to make a green smoothie and the kids would not try it.. She opened a bottle of this stuff and OMG.. it is so good. So I bought a bottle and when the oldest got home from school I gave my sales pitch. She later tried it and then walked off with a big glass of it. She even said she was afraid to drink too much cause the bottle was so little. I told her not to worry about it and drink it. It tastes like apple, banana, orange juice but it has so much more. Remember Spirulina (blue-green algae) that I mentioned before cause I add it to my smoothies.. Yep, it's in there. This bottle was like 3.49 for a IDK a pint. I would have to look. But it's good and it's good for you. It's a keeper.

Since I have been eating more fruits and veggies I haven't wanted anything sweet. But I bought the kids these gummy things and I bag for me. Now before I could have eaten the whole bag but I found that after about 3 I was all sugared out. I actually kind of felt sick.

I saw this toothpaste in their flyer last week and wanted to try it. It's a lot thicker than your normal Crest and the flavor.. straight up peppermint with a twist. I think I like it. And it was only 1.99 for a big tube. Thanks Trader Joe's.

I bought some organic butter to try and this honey yogurt. Now I'm not a big yogurt fan. I like textured and yogurt, pudding and jello just don't have it. I tried this Honey stuff and it's to die for. I love it.

Dried apricots to snack on.

I found a great no fry recipe for the Eggplant and I bought two new kids of milk. I like to keep box milk in the pantry for those days when I run out of regular.

And that's my trip. Have you ever been to Trader Joe's.. I love it. Does your family eat anything organic? Are you finding that it is more expensive in your area? In SW Ohio it's a good deal.

Lots Happening

Hello Blogger Babes,

It's me Cathy and YES, I am still here. I had been posting a Four O'clock Foto everyday and it was a lot of fun to show you my life. But then a few weeks ago I hit a dry spell and thought maybe everyday was overkill. I needed a break..I was burnt out, I had nothing to post about so I took a unofficial pause in blogging. I have been popping in to read all your stories and enjoyed every minute but myself, I was lost. It has been forever since I did any real crafts and so I put down my blog and let my creative juices take over. Now let me say that my creative juices are always bigger in my head but I still try. I have been trying some new things and would like to share them with you.. Between work, kids, house, dance, dogs, a very needy cat {all of a sudden, may be due to new puppy} I have been sewing, baking bread, doing crafts and planning my garden. I have taken pictures which you will see IF you continue to read but I haven't been going overboard. Ya see, I take pictures of everything..EVERYTHing...The camera {Baby} doesn't go in her diaper bag..she sits around the house for all to grab and capture THAT moment. Let me just say we have moments of all kind around here. I am shocked sometimes when I download and see where Baby has been. Surprising enough we have never misplaced her..maybe cause she is used everyday several times a day. Anywhooooo, moving on.. here is what I have been up to lately..A Beta fish that the oldest bought.. This one lived approximately 1/2 day longer then the refund time.. Don't you love

Jack's Pet's

refund policy. I don't even think it had a name..If I had to guess it would be Alan..{from the Hangover} The kids love this movie..I know it's maybe not very appropriate but whatever. You can shelter your kids to the point that they can't interact in public or when they do get FREE.. college, a friends house, their own apartment or even in a car with the opposite sex that they have been so tied up that they go crazy and try to slam everything in they are not allowed to do ... That's when trouble starts. So I give a little here and there and they seem to be good kids so far.. They have not got caught by the cops, they are not getting caught in sexual activities, they are not stealing so things are going well. We have all the friends over to our house which can be a zoo at times but atleast I know what they are doing. We hang out with the kids and their friends in every room of the house, nothing is OFF limits for us.. If they are with their boy/girl friend in the living room, basement we are welcome to come and go.. Actually the oldest's boyfriend likes to hang with us in the kitchen, livingroom or play XBOx with G... it's my theory and rules and so far it's working. Enough of that.. D is now obsessed with the movie

Sixteen Candles. He watches it all the time.

*******Ear Infection*******

In previous posts I mentioned that I had a terrible ear infection. Well last Friday I went to see a ENT {Ear, Nose and Throat} Doctor and he sucked a bunch of stuff out and said I ruptured my ear drum. I feel so much better. It didn't hurt unless I touched my ear but I couldn't hear and the white noise.. I was about to go crazy with the non-stop ringing.

Well anyways we tried Ear Candles. Very odd but it worked. Well it didn't clear the infection but if did take the stuff out. I won't show you pics of that cause mine was really nasty due to the puss pocket.. yeah.. I'll save them for another time.

******Garden Time******

You see I am tired of the snow.. I want to walk barefoot in the fresh green grass and smell the flowers {cause I don't have roses} So I got antsy and had a vision. I read where you don't want to water directly on the seeds so I came up with this idea that I would recycle the milk jugs by cutting them in half.
Then I would water down the handle. Brilliant or what? I know...the What!!


I sat them on a towel on the vent for warmth and let them go. .. This was January 30th. I told G the other day that they were sprouting and he asked what we were going to do with a 4ft tomato plant til May.. Silly man.. I have no idea but I will figure it out as I go.. I'm not a green thumb so for this plant to make it til then will be a miracle in itself. Of course when I put the "planter" down Baxter the inspector had to come check it out. Well that also brought Emma and Macy in too. ...
Baxter and Macy have only met a few times as you can see on her face and this was one of those times. Baxter had decided since there are now 2 Bitches in the house that he will live in our bathroom. I went in the other night to see him yawning and stretching.. I'm not sure if he came out of the armour door or from behind the toilet.. Either way, he watches when he comes downstairs for the rat.

^^^^^^^******MACY claire******^^^^^^^^

Now moving on to the rat-

For those of you that don't know I am a grandma..that's right. The oldest was given a puppy for Valentines Day..

She is supposed to be a

Silky Terrier

but the Vet says she is an

Australian Terrier.

Either way she is a sweet little thing and has a deeper bark than Emma. I was so afraid she would have a ear piercing squeal but she's gonna be fine.

When we first got her she didn't or couldn't go up the stairs so Emma and Baxter sat at the top out of reach.. Well D spent the whole day babysitting her while we were at a dance competition. She snoozed while

he read his Navy Seal

book for a report and then taught her to go UP the stairs.. Emma taught her to go down..kind of.. She lays her legs out like skiis and slides down using her front paws.



They have their moments.

She sure does love the sun coming in on the den couch. That's her daytime spot.

She fits in well and once she gets over puppy mode she will be a good dog.

*******

Homemade Bread

*******

I have been reading this awesome blog by Aura. She is a 27 year old with wisdom beyond her time. She cooks, {which I might steal some ideas from her cause I need healthier food.} she sews, she has awesome hair and makeup, she loves music and even listens to Jack Johnson.. I wish at 41 I could be that in tune with my body and life as she is at 27. I love reading all of her stories and seeing the pictures of her life. She has inspired me to try a few new things and making homemade bread is one of them. ..speaking of bread.. I may take a break here and get some started. It's so easy and the only real time it takes it to let it rise which you or I don't have to do anything.

I guess I didn't realize how easy bread was to make. I thought it took hours and work and hours and work. Now the first one I made did take a little longer for the braiding but other than that it's easy peasy.. I say this cause I can't BAKE... I can't make a decent cookie to save my life but for some reason along with my side kick G which I am now calling my

SExy Bread MaCHine

we did okay and was happy with the results.



Okay the first one we made was inspired by Aura. She mentioned that she eats this bread all the time and it's so good. It looked good and then when her mom made it for her I thought I would try it too. It is

Challah Bread (Hallah),

it's a Jewish Egg bread. We made Honey Challah. At first I didn't think we put enough honey in but when it was done it was dElish..


This recipe ended up making 4 loaves. I put Cinnamon / Sugar on one, it would be awesome for breakfast. Then I put Poppy Seeds on one, Sesame Seeds on another and left one plain. I was really excited cause I never thought I could make bread but I Or WE did and it felt so good to create something. I had no idea it was this easy.. Watch my cooking blog {No Chef Required} for the recipe..

*******************Granola********************

Well I like Granola.. I never buy it, it just seems too expensive. I like a crunch in my yogurt so last week when I served yogurt and blueberries I craved the crunch so I pulled out a pan and went to town. Now by the time I got done was this really going to be good for me?Probably not, but over all it's a great snack and better than a handful of Skittles.. MAYBE..


First I grabbed G's Fiber One ceral and a Kroger Natural Cereal and Cheerios.

I then added

Raisins, Craisins

A few Butterscotch Chips,

Coconut

Pecans

Peanut Butter

Honey

Apple Butter

Salt, Raw Sugar and

Poppy and Sesame SEEDs

I just mixed it all, spread on Greased cookie sheets {lined with foil} and warmed in the oven til the Butterscotch melted.

It turned out so so so so gooooodd.. I even had to make another batch a few days later. This time..well I forgot the Honey but added just a few Chocolate Chips.. this didn't work too well cause they burnt in the oven. I also sprinkled fiber and protein powder on top.. yummo. My creative juices were flowing then and G really likes it. I grab a handful passing through the kitchen. I put it on cereal last night. I take a bag to work...it's a keeper.

%%%%%%% Lunch Bagels %%%%%%%

G and I needed a quick lunch one day because we were going to venture off on another bread making session. I took Tyson Boneless Buffalo nuggets and threw them on a bagel with some ranch dressing, bacon, {spinach on mine} and some cheese. I have to admit, they were the best but with some tweaking they would be okay.

#########

French Bread

###########

Next G and I made French Bread. A lot easier than the Challah. It only takes 2 hours to rise and then another hour.. But the mixing part is a breeze.

I asked G to take pictures and this is what I got.. My pajama pants.. and then a bowl covered with plastic bag so the

yeast

/dough could rise.



My phone after the flying flour trick. I kind of made a mess but that's okay.





While the dough was rising I made a pork roast for dinner. We had left over sauerkraut from the Reuben's the night before so I make this, Mashed Taters, Asparagus and cake. I am not a pork eater but I pulled some meat and added barbque sauce and made a sandwich...I choked it down but didn't go back for more. Here is the finished product. Nice, warm, crusty French Bread.. It turned out..I'm surprised.


I made one loaf and the others I made into bread bowls shapes. This would be great for soup bowls. I made try some in a cupcake pan and see how it does. I just made another batch and it or I was neater this time. I used unbleached and whole wheat flour.. I don't know if "french bread" comes in whole wheat but around my house we are going to try it. Mr. C and Mr. E came to hang out and spend the night with D Saturday. They tore into my new creation. Mr. C loved it. I put butter on some and Strawberry Jam.. yeahhh.I also made a pineapple upside-down cake. I hate this pan, It's too shallow, it doesn't cook well and I should throw it out but I think {and this just hit me} I may mod podge it and put Valentine Suckers in it for the monsters.. I am so creative {SOME TIMES}. I always use the Pineapple juice as the water for the batter. I had almost a whole other cake pan of batter left so I poured it in and made jus a plain cake. Well the little monster {our taste tester} does like Pineapple and she picked up it straight away.. I tried to slide it past her but it didn't work. Random picture of Bananas.. I don't know.. I just sit around and take pics of STUFF..I have found a new creation.. G made me a brownie with Peppermint Stick ice cream and a cherry on top.. OMG it was so good. The girls tried a bowl the other night and liked it too. I don't have pictures of myself, nor do I like pictures of myself but as I was walking in the foyer I noticed my hair is getting longer so I snapped this.. I know it doesn't look long but for me it is.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>SEWING>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I have been on a crafty kick lately so I broke out my old sewing machine. I think I blogged about it a few weeks ago. Well the metal bobbin thing with the little lever broke so I gave up. I still had a few things ie. cloth napkins, pillows that I wanted to finish but let it set and dreamed of getting them done. Well Saturday as the little one walked into the kitchen I saw a pair a pajama pants fly in the direction of my sewing pile.. She said the but busted out and that I could make something with them.. Cooooool. But I didn't have a sewing machine.

Pillow

So Super Bowl Sunday G and I went out and had a few beers, played Gin Rummy and watched the game.. GoSaints.. I love Mardi Gras and New Orleans but that's another story. After the game I ran to Walmart and bought myself a new little Singer Sewing Machine. Nothing fancy but it does the job. I have made several things since and will display them here for all of you to see my beginner sewing talents.

Tooth pillow and little bag for secret girl things. Oh yes that is coming for the little one..oh joy to us.. I told her to put a supply in her lunch box just in case. She doesn't carry a purse although she has some cutes ones including a Vera that I would like to get my hands on.

Another random picture. My kitchen sink.. My dish soap in a oil bottle and vinegar in the spray bottle. I use vinegar a lot to clean the sink and countertops.More sewing. We have these bath towels that have lost their shape, the end edges are gone and I am tired of getting out of the tub to find I grabbed an ancient towel that I couldn't dry my hair with. I know we need to break down and buy new ones but I don't. It would take a small fortune to buy enough towels for this household. Anyways.. moving on. I cut the old ones up and sewed them together making dish rags. The work great.. not too thick, not too thin.. I like them. If I run out of dish rags I always grab a dish towel to wipe.. they are just too big or long for this purpose.. so these little guys work wonders. My new invention for the house.

Back to the diningroom garden.. It's February 10th and I have sprouts to my tomato plants.. Yeah I don't really know what I am going to do when they get big but I will let ya know. Okay so moving on.. Uses for my french bread. Sunday morning I made French toast..awesome!!! Tuesday I made garlic bread.. awesome!!!

I know this may be a small thing to some but I am really proud of myself that I could make and have a loaf of French bread setting on my counter for use in so many things..

I put some garlic in butter and spread it on.Then I topped with cheese and waaalaaaa.. Garlic bread. If I had grown the garlic and made the butter I could truly call this homemade..

MOVING ON!!!!!

I bought scarf in 1998 on the one and only cruise that I have ever been on. I bought it to wear as a shaw with my "cocktail" dress. It's been in my closet ever since and this year when the oldest received a few big scarves for Christmas I pulled it off my scarf rack and have worn it since. It's been great to wrap my ears up since I had this nasty ear infection.

Emma Sue and Macy Claire were watching G shovel the snow. I couldn't get a good pic for the glare of the snow.

Speaking of snow.. See all of the

Yellow

snow.. They didn't get too far out the door to do their business.

It's now covered again with about the same amount.. Spring where are YoU?

Cold, lifeless branches.

ma went out for 3.5 minutes and this is what she looked like.. she is a snow bunny at heart. I did make her wear her coat with the collar up.. I'm sure glad I let her get a little shaggy this winter..she has sure needed it this last week. another random photo.. my pin cushion..that I made..yes I did..

Oh and here is the big craft of the week. I made the little one an apron..

Isn't that calling Little House on the Praire or what..

Well that's it for these last few weeks..well actually I have some other pics but that will be for another post considering this one took ForEVER to blog..

Thanks for visiting and hope you come back. If you have any questions about any of my artistic {NOT} ability please leave me a comment.. I really love comments but don't get that many cause.. I know.. I am BORING>>...!!! But thanks for taking the time to look into my crazy life.. NOw off to knead bread..