Adventures in La La Land

Sorry I'm late today. We spent the morning at Golden Corral with my family for my parents' 30th anniversary - which leads to my first point: 1. We ran into some interesting characters at Golden Corral. Justin never lets me go there because he says buffets are for white trash people. (Sorry if that offends you. It offends me too. I love buffets.) As much as it pains me to say it, I think he's right. Today we saw one interesting fellow eating with blue latex gloves on his hands. But the worst was the old guy sitting right by us. When he first came in, I thought "aww, that's sad. He's eating all alone." A few minutes later, we heard a loud whirring noise. We surreptitiously glanced his way to see him pureeing his food in a food processor and feeding himself through a feeding tube. Why on earth would you go to a restaurant and pay for expensive food you're not even going to taste? So strange. I ate my food with my mouth and enjoyed it very much. Happy 30...

I'm sorry if you're getting sick of the recipe posts, but I figure people are always looking for new recipes, and this one was really good! It's actually from a book about freezing dinners ahead of time, but I just found it on a message board. Now, disclaimer . . . it sounds really gross. It's another one of those recipes with a very strange combination of ingredients. As I was making it, I was thinking No way is this going to turn out. It is going to be so gross and we're going to end up having peanut butter and jelly for dinner. But then once it was all simmering on the stove, it started to smell really good, and my faith was restored. So here you have it: Peanut Chicken Recipe By: Don't Panic - More Dinners in the Freezer Serving Size: 6 Ingredients : 4 boneless chicken breasts 1/4 cup sesame oil - - - [The only thing I could find at the store was "sesame seed oil" in the ethnic foods aisle. And it was $12! Yeah right! I just used vegetable...

1. I'm not sure I'm going to have too much to report this week because all I did was work. I know most people work 5 days a week, but I've been spoiled with my 2-3 day schedule, so 4 ten (+) hour days this week was brutal! Tuesday, I worked from 7am-9pm. It actually went surprisingly well. I did a craft with the kids and took them to the library and they took long naps, so the day went quickly enough. 2. Here's the cute Halloween craft I was talking about: I just painted the bottom of the kids' feet white and stamped them on a black piece of paper. Then I cut out some little rectangles to write the words on and had them glue them on. I drew the face on Lyla's after it dried. Chase drew his own face on. Cute! 3. I got to hang out with a long lost friend this week: Ali. She's one of those friends that I don't really remember how we met or became friends, but I'm glad we did. My cousins and I road-tripped it to her wedding in Minnesota a couple ...

I've been on a roll with new recipes this week. I won't have room for all of them in the Saturday 7, so consider this a bonus entry! ;-) Apple Pork Chops I wrote about this one on facebook, but in case you missed it, here's the story: I made these years ago and Justin loved them. Along the way, I lost the recipe. He just asked me to make them again, so I made it from memory. Apparently my memory is amazing, because they were delicious! Seriously though, there wasn't much to remember. This is all it is: Put some boneless pork chops in the bottom of a pan Cover them with a can of apple pie filling Top with prepared stuffing - I used pork flavored. You can use whatever. Bake at 350* for 40ish minutes. I did 42 minutes and they turned out perfectly! Cheesy Chicken Slop This recipe was from Pinterest, but it was really nothing special. I'll pass it on anyway, in case it strikes your fancy. Put some boneless skinless chicken breasts in a crockpot. Cover wit...

1. I finished Radical last weekend. I've been meaning to write an entry all week, but I just haven't gotten around to it. I write it in my head almost every night while I'm in bed. I just need to type it up! Here is my one sentence review: I hated it because it's so convicting, but I feel like it's rooted in Biblical truth. Stay tuned. :-) 2. I had a fabulous birthday. Thanks to everyone who made it special. I had a wonderful time stuffing my face all weekend. Friday we had Red Robin, Saturday was Qdoba, Sunday Olive Garden, and Monday Logan's! Wow. It's a good thing I don't believe in counting calories. ;-) Justin bought me some boots that I wanted, and  I got a couple American Eagle gift cards, an Olive Garden gift card, $50 cash, a scarf, mittens, and bracelet. I really wanted Justin to take me to the mall today, but it must have slipped my mind that today is a big Michigan sports day. I don't think he'll be leaving the couch. Haha. 3. Yes...

1. We went to Artprize yesterday. Justin and I both had the day off, the weather was beautiful, and we'd never been, so off we went! I've said this before, but it's funny that we live 30 minutes from GR, but almost never go down there. It really is a nice city. We didn't see too much. It was actually kind of hot and we were getting hungry, but the stuff we saw was pretty cool. I liked the recycled material sculpture of endangered animals outside the Ford museum. My recurring thought as we looked at everything was that it must take a lot of patience to be an artist. I can't imagine how long it would take to make some of that stuff! 2. It has been a really rough week around here. Lucy and I are both sick as dogs. We are snot factories. And in the past few days the coughing has set in. I despise  coughing. I have to be able to sleep. Ugh. The bad news is it's not getting any better. I think last night was my worst night of sleep yet. On Monday, I bought a bottle ...

I tried another pinterest recipe tonight: Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings. It was really good! It would be perfect for a cold, drizzly day - which today was not. But it was also perfect for a bunch of sickies - which we are. Here it is: Picture from bubblecrumb.com  Chicken and Dumplings 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used chicken tenders and threw them in frozen) 2 tablespoons butter 2 cans cream of chicken soup 1 can chicken broth 1 onion, diced 1 tablespoon dried parsley 4 G rands flaky refrigerator biscuits 1. Throw everything except the biscuits in a crockpot on low for 6-8 hours. (I work way longer than that, so mine cooked for 11 hours. Haha. Nice and tender!) 2. Shred the chicken. 3. Cut each biscuit into 9 pieces.  4. Stir biscuit pieces into hot chicken and continue to cook for 30 minutes.  More notes: I actually used a packet of Tastefully Simple Onion Onion instead of the onion and parsley. It was delicious! And I...

1. Lucy has been so clingy the past few days. She just wants to be held all the time. She has a runny nose and a little bit of a a cough, so I figured she just wasn't feeling well. This morning, I woke up with the cold. I understand now how miserable she is. :-( 2. I got all domestic this week and borrowed Kelly's food processor again to puree some veggies. I did cauliflower and sweet potatoes this time. Then I made homemade mac n' cheese with the cauliflower puree (recipe from Deceptively Delicious ).  It was delicious and Lucy gobbled it right up! Woohoo for veggies! 3. Our house was 64* when I got up this morning. I said I wouldn't turn on the heat til October, but I really don't want to do it the first day! I have to hold out longer than that! It's supposed to be 70* again next week. Maybe I can make it 'til November? 4. I reorganized Lucy's clothes this week. I've started putting away most of her 6-12 month stuff. It is obscene  how much s...