Stuck in a Hotel!

Well, we made it out of NW Oklahoma! I'm hearing that there is almost a foot of snow there! WOW! I would love to see some pictures so someone get some...please. Our 6:45am flight was cancelled but hopefully we'll get on the later one sometime after 4! It was a mess driving to the city yesterday! We saw at least 25 cars in the ditch!! Lots and lots of emergency crew! Kind of scary! Luckily the cruise doesn't leave until tomorrow! We'll drive if we have to to get there!! For now...we're hanging out in the hotel! Tons of fun!

Pancakes anyone?

I'm not sure about you all but...I'm married to a man who should have been a food critic! Sometimes it's a good thing because it keeps me trying new things until I get it right. I'm sure for those of you that HATE to cook your thinking...if he doesn't like it then he can fix it himself! But for me...I love the challenge! I love for him to brag on my food! Pancakes are something that we have gone round and round about! I even had to go as far as to find a skillet like his Mom's (who is a wonderful cook by the way) to make her recipe of pancakes on. I ordered it off of eBay a few years ago and it seemed to do the trick. The only problem is...you can only cook 2 sm. pancakes or 1 lg. one on it at a time! Now if you've cooked pancakes before...you know that that is a long time standing over a hot stove! I have continued to try and simplify the pancake task!

Well, I was going to "trick" him today after church. He was in the living room busy watching basketball so I thought...Now is my chance! I found a new pancake recipe a few days ago and it sounded wonderful. I've been wanting to try it and just change everything before he noticed (even the skillet). I couldn't be so lucky. He decided to come in MY kitchen and wash his hands before dinner. He saw that I wasn't using "the skillet"! He asked...will those be as good? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!! Believe me a skillet really does make a difference! So he was right there but what he didn't know is that this was a NEW recipe! So...I plate them up and wait.........Well, IT WORKED! He absolutely loved them! At first all he would do is kind of a half smile. If your old enough you'll remember the LIFE cereal commercial. Mikey likes it...He likes it!! I was feeling that scene!! My hubby just happens to be named Mike! Hmmm... He really hated to admit it but he had found a new pancake love! I share all of this so I can share this amazing recipe with you! I found it on a blog that I discovered the other day. I halved the recipe and also added a ¼ c. sugar. Here is the blog that I found it on http://www.reluctantentertainer.com/2009/02/netties-syrup-giveaway.html and here is the original recipe:

Buttermilk Pancakes

4 cups buttermilk

4 eggs

1 ½ cubes butter melted (12 Tablespoons)

3 cups flour

2 tsp. salt

3 tsp. baking soda

(This is the Large batch – you can cut in ½ if you choose to!)
Whisk ingredients – lumps are OK!

Cook on a hot skillet

Can't wait to hear if you tried the recipe! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think! The butter in them makes them amazing! And...Keesha...you won't notice the buttermilk! It gives them tons of flavor!! Trust me on this one! Give them a try!!! You'll be hooked too!!

Snow Skiing...

We had an amazing time skiing! It's something that Mike & I LOVE to do together and we have a blast at it! I just wanted to share a couple of pics with you. Mika & Tyler went with us and half of them had a great time! Mika may not admit it but...I think deep down inside she really did have fun! If not...GET OVER IT MIKA! ;) We had a good time with them regardless!! My computer is toooooooo slow to upload too many pics! Sorry...maybe later when I break out the laptop!!

The Move...

Well it's finally happened! We've officially moved! Thank goodness it's only temporary. Hopefully it won't take more than a year to build our new home in the country. In the mean time...I've managed to squeeze belongings from a 3,000 sq. ft. home into a 1,000 sq. ft. home! You try and do that!! I think I'll be unpacking boxes for months! I know your thinking...why in the world would you unpack if your going to move again. Well, if it was only going to be a couple of months...I would agree with you but for a year...It has to feel like home! I'm going to try and finish up the "living space" today. Spare bedroom will have to wait until I have company coming. For now I can just pull the door shut!

I have to share with you my "office" space! I'm loving it and I want to spend all my time here because it's organized and not a single box in sight!

I've been reading posts on design "inspirations". Following is a picture of my "inspiration" for my office area and then a picture of what I did. Please look past the paneled walls! I wanted to paint them but since we're only going to be here a year or so...I figured that was a little much. I may end up painting them who knows!

(Click on the above picture to read all about her office nook!)

Below is my attempt to duplicate the "office nook"! I'm sure I'll put a few more touches on it. (Like cover the blue chair!) I'm thinking leopard print??

Gotta love the $.79 Rooster...can't pass up a good deal can you?

Well, I've been dying to get back into the kitchen. I know for those of you who hate to cook...you think I'm crazy! Being in the kitchen is relaxing to me and I just love it! You will see my hubby and me eating out a lot but that is because of lack of time. Eating lunch out has always been our time. Since the kids were little that was our little "get away" for the moment and it was just us. Time for us to communicate. We ate at Mel's the other day and had a piece of MaryAnn's Coconut Cream Pie. TO DIE FOR!! Her meringue is the absolute best! Well, I gave her a call and she gladly shared her recipe with me. I made Mike 2 pies for Valentines day. The Meringue turned out so pretty I had to take some pics. I've NEVER had meringue turn out like that!! It was so yummy too!! One was Coconut Cream and the other was Butterscotch! Wish I had some left over to share with you!!

Last but not least...meet the newest member of our family! I think that lack of sleep has gotten the best of my husband! He called and said...let's go to the farm...I have something to show you!

When we got there she was making those Donkey noises and we both just laughed!! It was so funny!!! We've yet to come up with a name for her so if you have any great suggestions...just post it in the comments!!

Well, this was a long post but that's what I get for waiting so long to update! I better get off the computer and back to unpacking boxes! Wish me luck!

Birthday Girls!

HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY MIKA!!!

HAPPY BELATED 21ST BIRTHDAY McKENZEE!!

Fun Weekend...and packing!

I have to be short because I'm packing! We are trying our best to get out of our house for the couple who bought our house. Travis and Lisa are expecting a baby very very soon and we want to let them get in our home as soon as possible. Packing is NO fun!

Jodi and I went to Houston this past weekend to "A Girls Night Out". Lysa TerKeurst, Renee Swope, and Kate Gosslin (from Jon & Kate plus 8) were the speakers...we had a great time.

Then we got to spend the weekend with my Aunt Ann in Houston! I was so excited to see her! I thought it had only been 3 years but...she informed me that it was more like 7! That is horrible!!! We had a wonderful time and I plan to go and see her more often now! Love Ya Aunt Ann!!

Well, I better get back to packing...wish me luck!

The TRUTH shall set you free...or send you dumpster diving!

Well, the title says it all! Tonight we attempted to start moving some of our shed & garage things over to our temporary house. We'll just call it the "in between" houses house. Building could take about a year or so and ours sold so we are downsizing to a smaller home temporarily!

My wonderful hubby was moving a very important piece of furniture for me. Now I know it doesn't look like much but...it has very special meaning to me. Not to mention I plan on using it in our "in between" house.

It's an old cast iron bed that belonged to my Great Grandma. She was a very very special lady to me! I still think about her often! I inherited this bed and it was what I slept on growing up! Then McKenzee got to use it while she was growing up. Mike has never even liked that bed and has often asked me if we can just get rid of it. There aren't too many things that I'm sentimentally attached to but this is one of them!

As Mike & Brock were getting ready to take a trailer load over to put it in the garage I saw the bed on there and I gave specific instructions to BE CAREFUL! They both looked at me like I was crazy! A little while later I was over at the "in between" house working on shampooing the carpets. I decided to go out in the garage and see how Mike was coming along. I noticed that the bed was leaning up against the garage wall and I could tell that it wasn't all white anymore. Something was wrong with it!! Pieces were broken off.

So I walked over to it and asked Mike what happened?!!! He said...I don't know Brock loaded it! I said well, it wasn't like that when you left the house! I tried to ask questions and then I was really getting upset so after I slammed the garage door (actually the wind caught the door but it was perfect timing!) Mike just kept on working! I went back in the house and called Brock on my cell and he had no idea what had happened with it. Mike came in the house about an hour later and said I'm sorry honey. That was all I got out of him! He said that maybe the pieces were somewhere between here and there and he would look tomorrow in the daylight. Well, on my way back to our house I did the tour to see if I could recover any iron pieces. NO LUCK!

When Mike got home I cornered him again...this time...he caved! The true story started to unfold! He DID know where the pieces were...in the DUMPSTER right where he had hidden the evidence after he had knocked the bed over and the pieces went flying all over the garage! I said I was leaving to head back back over there and start looking for them. I knew that JB Weld or something could put them all back together! Brock jumped in with me as I was leaving. We hadn't been there 5 min. and Mike showed up too! Guilt got the best of him I guess!

You can't imagine how full this dumpster was even the neighbors food was in there! After the cat jumped out we started to remove things onto the trailer that was still hooked on to Mike's pickup! Mike knew right where to go and start looking...he headed to that part of the dump! Lo and Behold...we stared to find pieces one by one. We're only missing one small piece now! It's on the back side of the bed so it will be hidden!

I guess the moral to this story is...ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH FIRST and never try and hide the evidence especially from a Sherlock Holmes kind of wife!! You may just have to go dumpster diving if you do!