Breakfast of Champions

When you cook breakfast for a teenager,  it can look a little something like this

Happy Quarantine

Several New Pages

I have taken the time to add several new pages to my blog. It has taken me years to compile these pages over the years. I hope you enjoy all the valuable content on each page.

Some pics on the pages of my fellow blogger friends are watermarked thanks to Photobucket changing their Terms Of Service Policy on us.

We hope you bare with us for those pics.

Just look for the titles of the pages under my title and you will see all the page titles.

Thank you so much for stopping by and hanging out with me as I blog my journey.

Added A New Page

I would just like to let everyone know that I have added a new page to my blog. It is called Canning and Preserving. On this page I share tips to how we can and preserve our food and fill our freezers and pantries. Just look under my Header Box under the blog title and you will find it. Just click on it. 

I will be adding more pages to our blog as time permits. 

I hope you enjoy it. 

Just Going To Share Some Tips

Today I had to venture out to the grocery store to get us some more things that were on my list that I did not find at Walmart the other day when went and to also pick up some things for some more older relatives so they wouldn't have to get out.

I got back home and began to repackage and prep some things and got to thinking that I could share the process with ya'll that I use to put things in my freezer. 

We always buy our meat in bulk or stock up when they run sales like .99 lb for chicken  or hamburger meat. Granted, we also have ground deer from our hunting season. When they run these kinds of sales, I will go and buy around 20 to 40 lbs at a time. Kroger runs very good sales and it costs nothing to get their member card.  It is free and no annual membership. Member with the card gets better sales than with out the card. I will bring this meat home and repackage it into meals for three of us, then put it in vacuum seal bags so it doesn't get freezer burnt. This really stretches your meals out and it saves  a ton of money. One big chicken breasts can be cut in half lengthwise and make two fillets. Again, a big savings. If you go every time they have  a sale on their meat and pick up several packages, you can fill your freezer in no time. You don't have to spend more money all at one time buying in bulk.

I will buy bags of potatoes when they go on sale and come home and cut them up into french fries, scallop shape, or cubes and partially cook them and put in ziploc freezer bags for meals and then put in freezer to have on hand anytime. This saves more money than buying prepared bags of ff or that sort. I just grab a bag and let them defrost and then fry them up or bake them. Sometimes I will cube them up and can them.

We buy beans in bulk when they go on sale and I can those and put in our pantry. I buy bulk things like beans and onions because I have tried to grow them before but haven't had much success for all the labor that I put into them. If I can't grow them, then I will buy them in bulk and can them. I did some carrots one time too when they were on sale for .99 a bag.  I've never had any luck growing carrots either. 

One year we did grow potatoes and put so much labor into them and had a good year. Then next, not so good. So I just decided it was better to just buy potatoes when they were on sale and put them up that way. It worked perfect and I could use that garden space for something else that I grow really well. 

I will buy blocks of cheeses when they go on sale and stock up. I will shred them up and repackage them into 1 cup portions and put them in ziploc bags and put in freezer. We make alot of homemade pizzas and we go through alot of cheese. 

I do onions the same way. I tried to grow onions too to no avail. So I will buy them by the bags and run them through the food processor and repackage them into 1 cup portions and vacuum seal them and put them into freezer. 

Basically, if you catch things when they go on sale, repackage them, and freeze them, you will have a freezer full in no time and will save more money. 

People do not know alot of these tricks and wind up spending more money. This is how manufactures make their money is doing all the prep work for you and packaging it and charging more. Another example, I will buy a whole pineapple and bring it home and cut it up myself and put it in a bowl and save more money than spending more at the store for pineapple that is already cut up and put in plastic containers and jacked the price up by $2 or $3. 

I have thought about making pizza dough and bread dough and freezing it to have on hand and just pull out of the freezer to thaw and be faster. Tips like these save time. It's called food prep. Yes, you will have to set aside some time to do this prep, but in the long run it makes meal time faster if you are in a hurry or getting off work late and everyone still has to eat. 

We just have to play it smart and shop wisely and get creative. 

I hope some of these tips have helped you today. 

Let's Play Catchup

Hi everybody. It's been a while since I've posted again. Facebook is just too convienient sometimes to just pop in and post something. I forget that people like blogs too.

Let's see if I can catch every one up again.

We had the opportunity to go to another rodeo in a local town. This one Dallas got to be a part of. The FFA signed up for an event called a calf scramble. Alot of local schools could participate and represent their Chapter. The first night of the event our school took first place. The next night we weren't so lucky. I was proud of Dallas and his team. They were just not fast enough to catch one.

Jossie and the girls rode with me and Dakota was running late.

The girls have done a good job helping me keep the seeds we planted watered but for some reason I have not had any success this year. I will replant some that I have time to, but the rest like cold season stuff , I will just have to buy the plants If I want to have any. 

I have been catching up on somemore sewing projects that I wanted to. The girls love to help me some times. I love teaching them or for the most part right now, letting them watch. 

I found a cool trick to gather fabric with my serger. All you do is pinch slightly on the needle threads while you serge. Wholah! The tighter you pinch, the more the gather. Worked like a charm and so much faster. 

I made the girls another apron a piece made from Pioneer Woman dish towels. Then I made little back packs using her place mats. These were too easy too. I found the videos on YouTube. The back packs are from Lorrie Nunemaker. She has a series of videos for Placemat Pouches. They are all very cool and easy. I will be making somemore from her videos. 

I have has so much fun with the girls here lately. One morning we made rainbow pancakes. Thanks to Jennifer from The Family Fudge on YouTube. This woman  makes cool lunches and she has so many fun great fun ideas. You just make your pancake dough and then split into seperate bowls one for each color of the rainbow and add drops of fool coloring. Stir until well combined. Pour onto pan and cook like regular pancakes remembering to keep heat low so you don't get brown spots and mess up your color. They turned out so good and very colorful. 

Our girls are really into Frozen.....so one day we had Frozen Day. They dressed in something with Elsa and Anna and we took the blue pancakes we made the day before and decorated them with blue sprinkles and snow sprinkles and whipcream for snow effect. Then we watched both Frozen movies. 

One night I made some broccoli and cauliflower soup in my pressure cooker and homemade bread. Yummy.

One night I turned the tables and had Dallas and Brylee make me supper. LOL. I showed them how to make homemade pizza. Well, Dallas already knew how so he showed Brylee. 

I'm so loving the birds all coming out more now. I sit by my bedroom window in the mornings and have my coffee and ready my devotions and prayer time and I caught this one morning. 

For St. Patrick's Day we had another fun day. Since schools are out (I will get to that in a bit), we made rainbow pancakes again and everyone picked the color of the rainbow they wanted. Then they could decorate it the way they wanted. 

Then we made shamrock cookies. We let the girls decorate these all by themselves. With minimal help. 

For the most fun of all, we made rainbow bread. This was the coolest project ever. We had Math, Chemistry and Home Economics all in one class. 

Then we laughed, played and rested. 

The temps are crazy and going up and down. So, on a good day, we got to get outside and enjoy some fresh air. Just little girls feeding the cat some popcorn. 

They spent the night with me one night and we had popcorn, fire in the firplace and Happy Feet playing. 

Dear hubby is off working and I got to make a weekend trip to see him. New place, new adventure. He will be called back this summer for another project so it should be interesting. 

Now, onto all the chaos with this Coronavirus thing. I am not going to get into politics or opinions on this topic here on my blog. I will just say this: I think we all just need to calm the heck down. Don't get crazy, take precautions, take care of ourselves and our families, check on our neighbors, pray more, worry less, don't stress, and enjoy this time with our loved ones.

God is not surprised and he knows exactly what he's doing. There is your Sunday Tidbit. Today is the Lord's day let us be glad and rejoice in it.

I hope this post finds everyone well and safe. Please take care of yourselves and God Bless. 

Good Week So Far

So far this week has been good. I have had a good time making memories with my grandbabies.

I have gotten a few sewing projects done and they have wanted to be involved.

I sewed 8 new bibs for them and a blouse for me.

I had to go buy Caroline her own spray bottle so she could help spray plants too. I was able to find some small bottles that is just perfect for their little hands.

We had some more of our rainbow pancakes with sprinkles on top. Hey, whatever works right?

This weekend some of our kids that are in FFA will be competing in a local rodeo for a calf roping competition.  Dallas is one of them. We are going Saturday night because that is the night he is competing.  I can't wait to watch his next adventure.

Nap time is always special with these two. When you are sleepy and they need you.

Well, it's off to bed with me.

Missing In Action

I am so sorry that I have been missing in action for so long. I have been bound and determined to get things checked off of my to do list that I have been loading up for a long time. 

This post is gonna be all mixed up because my pics did not upload in the order that I clicked on them. So, I will explain each one. 

These girls love their Poppie. 

This was taken Valentines Day. We double dated with Dallas and his girlfriend. 

My momma came up to spend a day with me. We were having cabin fever and had to get out. It was kind of misting and chilly out but we covered up and got inside one of our out buildings and got to work. 

One night we had pizza and movie night for the girls. We got in the kitchen and we made three different kinds of pizzas. We love to make our own pizzas. The girl absolutely love helping cook. I'm so glad we are teaching them and they can learn so much. So many kids these days do not know how to do some of these things for themselves.  Well, if I have anything to do with it, my grandkids will. We made a sausage, pepperoni, supreme, buffalo chicken, and one with tomatoes, spinach and bacon. They were so yummy. Then we just dug into our movie library in our entertainment center and picked out a movie for the girls. 

Some days this is what my view looks like. These girls go everywhere I go. I have no personal space. 😃

Somedays we lock Uncle Dallas in a dog kennel. He is such a good sport. 

I have got to buy me a bigger stool for these girls. They fight over who is going to get up and help G maw in the kitchen. 

They help me fix things in the house. 

They help Poppie do things. 

These girls love their corn on the cob. 

They love to help Gmaw look oh so pretty. 

I set her free one day just letting her cut up some cheese for our supper. That was a butter knife for safety. 

One night I got their help again and they made home made bread sticks. 

At the end of January we celebrated Dallas' 17th bday. We took him to a rodeo. We are rodeo and bull riding fans. We have been since our oldest was a little boy. It has been a while since we have been to one. 

He got some things to go in his truck. His truck is an older model and he wanted a better radio and speaker system. 

A boy and his dog. 

When you have an argument with a 17 yr old, strong willed, stubborn, hardheaded young man and then the next day you see this on your fridge. These teenage boys, well, young men, are something else. These years get a little hard because they are maturing and getting  ready for the real world and think THEY KNOW EVERYTHING AND YOU CAN'T TELL THEM ANY DIFFERENT!!!!!!! I got him and his girlfriend together in his bedroom and had a long talk with them.  They have this attitude that N0 ONE UNDERSTANDS THEM. Well, I assured them that yes, we as parents do understand them because we were once teenagers. However, they do not understand us because they have never been parents. That gave them something to think about. One more thing I had to make Dallas realize is, no one understand him more than ME. He is my mini me and we are exactly alike. I was that (cough cough) strong willed, hardheaded, stubborn teenager. Times are so different these days. These kids have so much more to deal with these days. School and teenage drama, peer pressure, adult pressure, don't get me started on social media and internet. No wonder more kids are struggling with Stress, Anxiety and Depression. We as parents have to step up our game. I spend alot of time in prayer for him and his girlfriend. 

This is naptime. We have a story and then get comfortable.

Some days we build forts. 

We've had some crazy weather this winter. A little winter here and there mixed in with some springy days, then just all out raining and flooding. One night I built a fire and made some homemade broccoli and cheese soup and homemade biscuits. Over all these years of trying to make biscuits, I have to say this was it. FINALLY!! 

Caroline was helping me pic out some recipes one night. 

This is our oldest son and some of his coworkers for our local electric company. This was 30 minutes from us. There were two houses upon a cliff above the TN river that collapsed down the cliff due to all the flooding on the river. Power lines were ripped off the houses and lying in the road. Power poles were jerked down and broken. They had to get the lines up and replace poles and restring the lines to the other side of the road. The dangerous part was, the road they are all walking on later collapsed and fell into a sinkhole only a few hrs after they left the worksite. This is why I pray over my kids safety everyday. 

The rains have subsided for a bit and the river is receeding. Some people on the river have water and flooding damage. We are beginning to dry out here. The sun has actually been shining a few days and we are reveling in it. 

I have been soooooooo busy getting things crossed off my to do list. I have cleaned out two outbuildings outside and organized them. Just have to buy some more storage tubs to put some things in and it will be all done. Then I started on the inside. First of all, I  finished scrubbing my house from top to bottom, cleaned out and organized my kitchen cabinets. Got rid of some stuff, Cleaned out some more cabinets in the house and a book case. I went through all my recipe books and got rid of some duplicate recipes that I don't use and shared them with my sisters. I put new recipes in and organized my books. Cleaned out some drawers in the house. Been working on my blog and backing up old pics from my Wordpress blog that Photobucket has messed up. I have gave them a piece of my mind and closed my acct with them. They changed their terms of service policy and all the sudden told me I was over my storage limit for my media for the free plan and I needed to upgrade to a paid plan. Well, funny thing is, I have not used Photobucket in years and have not uploaded any pics in years and Bam, all the sudden I'm over my limit. I don't think so. So, some of my pics will be water marked on old posts over the years and I can't do anything about those. I am still in the process of transferring alot of my pages over to Blogger from WordPress. So, you will be able to enjoy those soon. I will have a page for Sewing, Cooking, Homemaking, Homeschooling, Self Suffecient Living, Hunting, Cheesemaking, Canning/Preserving.......and oh so much more. This is just taking me a while but this is one thing that has been on my to do list. 

I work on alot of things on days when I don't have the girls so that way on the days I do have them we just play and have fun. 

I have more to do and today is no exception. I am going to hit out utility room closet in our laundry room. I have such a feeling of accomplishment especially after I just got over being sick for 2 1/2 weeks. I don't know exactly what I had but I ran fever for 4 days and sweet hubby locked me in the bed room for 4 days. He had to go out of town and could not get sick. He took such good care of me. I mostly had trouble with my chest. I felt it coming on and felt like my chest was closing up and having  trouble breathing. I coughed my head off for two weeks. Finally, it broke and I was able to get rid of it. I'm slowly getting back to my old self. So, I am taking advantage of it. 

Well, I have to get busy. The sun is shining through the windows. Its cold out but the sun looks so refreshing coming in. I hope I have caught everyone up. Thank you all for being so patient with me. I hope every one enjoys their day.