Author Archives: Lynn

Mounds Brownies

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Hi everyone!

It’s What’s Cookin’? Wednesday!

There has been a recipe floating around on Facebook recently that I just had to try. Personally, I’m more of an Almond Joy fan, but coconut surrounded by chocolate is always a winner no matter what you call it!

Actually, the version I made tasted more like an Almond Joy brownie (without the almonds!) because I used milk chocolate frosting, instead of dark chocolate, because that’s what I already had on hand.

The recipe calls for a Family Size box of brownie mix… I don’t know how anyone else’s brownies turn out, but whenever I bake them in a 9×13 pan (per the box instructions)… they always seem to be too thin, so I usually just bake them in a 9×9 pan- for 5 minutes less than the recommended baking time, and they come out fudgy and perfect each and every time!

For this recipe, I did use the 9×13 pan, but next time I’ll try the smaller one.  One change I had to make was the amount of frosting- I thought I had a nearly full container in the fridge, but it turned out to be only half full (it’s been a REALLY long summer!).  In my opinion, that was “just enough” topping for this delicious dessert!

Soooooooo….. if you like either of those candy bars, then you will LOVE these brownies… I know MY family did 😉

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Mounds Brownies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook/Bake Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Family Size (9x13) box of brownie mix
  • 1 (14 oz.) package of sweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 container of prepared frosting (or less, depending on your taste and choice of pan size)

Instructions

  1. Prepare the brownies according to the package directions (or your usual preference); let cool completely
  2. Blend the sweetened condensed milk with the powdered sugar until thoroughly mixed
  3. Add coconut, and stir well
  4. Spread the coconut mixture over the cooled brownies
  5. Remove all foil from frosting container and microwave entire container at 10 second intervals, stirring well after each interval, until frosting becomes "pourable"
  6. Pour the melted frosting over the top of the coconut mixture
  7. Refrigerate until frosting has "set up" - overnight is best

Notes

The "Family-Size" box of brownie mix usually bakes up pretty thin in a 9"x13" pan, so I generally take them out of the oven approximately 5 minutes sooner than the recommended baking time... otherwise, they taste a little on the "overbaked" side...

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The filling really does taste like the candy bar… the chocolate brownies are just an added BONUS!

Oh, and to my family: Guess what I’m bringing to the family reunion this weekend 😉

Don’t forget to CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE and LEAVE A COMMENT to let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

Lynn

Chicken & Noodles

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Hi everyone!

It’s What’s Cookin’? Wednesday!

Summertime is always so full of outdoor activities… open houses, weddings, family reunions, cook-outs, and pool parties are always on our calendar for the summer months. I love getting together with family friends, and I really love sampling all the great food that everyone brings… it’s the best of BOTH worlds!

So… out of allllll the side dishes that you make, what is your favorite potluck recipe to bring to an event?

Mine is definitely homemade chicken & noodles!

It’s a pretty inexpensive way to feed a LOT of people… and it’s such a yummy comfort food!

Granted, this is a little time-consuming to make, but there never seems to be any left when it’s time to pack up my crock pot and head home to wallow in misery from all the delicious food that I just HAD to try… and didn’t have to make!

This recipe definitely tastes best with homemade noodles, but you can certainly substitute those store-bought, full of preservatives, bags of egg noodles.

I’ll admit… I’ve had to substitute occasionally myself because I just didn’t have the time to make the homemade noodles. On those occasions, I try to buy the Amish-type egg noodles. They’re a little pricier than the “other” bags of noodles, but they’re closer to the taste and texture of homemade.

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Chicken & Noodles

Ingredients

    FOR CHICKEN:
  • 1/2 whole fryer chicken (or an amount equivalent if using chicken breasts or thighs)
  • 1 can chicken broth OR 3-4 chicken bouillon cubes
    • FOR NOODLES:
  • 2 eggs- slightly beaten
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt (again, I use popcorn salt for ALL my recipes)
  • 1/2 stick of softened butter
    • FOR "SAUCE":
  • 1 can cream of chicken OR cream of celery soup
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 Tablespoon flour OR cornstarch
  • 1-2 Tablespoons chicken base

Instructions

  1. Remove any skin from chicken and place in a large pot
  2. Add chicken broth (OR bouillon cubes) and enough water to cover the chicken
  3. Bring to boil, then cover and simmer until tender (approximately 1 hour)
    4. In the meantime...
  4. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl
  5. Cut in softened butter
  6. Mix in eggs and enough water to achieve a doughy (but not real sticky) consistency (add more water if too crumbly, or more flour if too moist)
  7. Turn dough out onto a clean, dry, floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes- adding small amounts of flour, if necessary
  8. Cover dough and let it set
    9. Continue with the chicken...
  9. When chicken is done, place colander in another large pot (or bowl) to catch the broth from the cooked chicken. Allow chicken to cool in the colander and return chicken broth to a soft boil, then reduce heat to simmer
    10. Continue with the dough...
  10. Begin rolling out the dough onto a floured surface (or use your pasta roller if you have one!) until about 1/8" thick
  11. Use a pizza cutter (or knife) to cut the dough into strips or rectangles until all dough is used, and drop into the broth- you may have to add a little more water to just cover the noodles. Make sure you stir after each addition of noodles to keep them from sticking together.
  12. Cook noodles until done, but not over-done. Remove from heat and drain about 3/4 of the liquid from the pan- reserve about 2 cups of the drained liquid to add back, if needed.
  13. Shred or tear chicken into bite sized pieces and add to noodles
    14. Add the finishing touches!
  14. Mix 1 Tablespoon flour OR cornstarch to the can of creamed soup and pour over chicken and noodles
  15. Add 1/2 cup of milk and 1-2 tablespoons chicken base (more or less depending on your taste preference) and mix thoroughly
  16. If needed, slowly begin to add the reserved liquid a little at a time until you have a thick and creamy consistency
  17. Simmer until warmed through
  18. Serve immediately, or place in a small crockpot on lowest setting.

Notes

The amounts listed in this recipe will fill up a small crockpot, which is usually enough for a family dinner.

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We like to break ALL the “nutrition” rules and eat these over mashed potatoes (homemade, of course!)… mmmmmmmm!

Don’t forget to CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE and LEAVE A COMMENT!  I’d love to know how they turned out for you 😉

Enjoy!

Lynn

Got JELL-O?!?

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Hi everyone!

It’s Mommy Monday!

Remember when the recipe for JELL-O Jigglers came out? It was such a “fun” twist to an old favorite! Kids thought it was great that they could eat JELL-O with their hands, and all of the “cool” parents jumped on the bandwagon to make these fun treats for their kids in all different flavors and shapes.

Raising five small children was not a “cheap” task… even with both parents working, “disposable” income was pretty much non-existent. There were always incidentals that would eat away at the budget… outgrown clothes, lost shoes, broken windows, stitches, braces…

You know… the “oh crap! stuff”.

I was never much on providing a lot of sugary junk food for my kids… I opted for fresh fruits and vegetables instead- and they were surprisingly okay with that. In fact, fresh veggies with dip was one of their favorite after-school snacks! I could never seem to keep enough of it in the house.

But JELL-O?!?

JELL-O was CHEAP!

And EASY to make!!

And kids LOVED it!!!

I remember being at the grocery store right around the time when JELL-O Jigglers were first introduced. They were offering free Jiggler molds with the purchase of 2 boxes of JELL-O… so I bought a couple of boxes and went home with my strawberry JELL-O and my “cool mom” Jiggler mold.

A few nights later, my husband and I left the kids with a babysitter. On those occasions, I would always try to have a special treat for them (okay… so maybe it was a “bribe” 😉 )… IF they were good for the babysitter. With 5 kids always going in 5 different directions, babysitters were VERY hard for us to keep- I had to do whatever it took to keep them coming back!

So, I made those fun JELL-O Jigglers… ONCE!

After my husband and I had returned home, I remember walking through the living room, past the dining room, and into the kitchen for something to drink. When I opened the refrigerator, I noticed that the whole plate of JELL-O Jigglers was gone.

To me that could only mean ONE thing… the kids behaved for the babysitter!!!

YAY!!! It worked!!!

But then…

I walked back into the dining room, turned on the light, and…

Something didn’t seem quite “right”…

WHAT… IN… THE… WORLD… HAPPENED?!?

The light was on… but all I could see were… SPOTS! Not those tiny little spots that eventually disappear when your eyes adjust to the light… these were huge RED SPOTS!!! My walls and my once white ceiling were now “decorated” with more than a dozen random red blotches!

YEP… leave it to MY kids to discover that not only was it fun to eat those JELL-O Jigglers with your hands, but apparently it was a riot to launch them through the air and watch them stick to the ceiling, too!

To this day, I’m not exactly sure WHAT the babysitter was doing at the time all this fun was going on, and I’m still not sure WHO the “ringleader” was… but I have a pretty good idea.

This has to be one of my kids’ all-time favorite childhood “heartprints” because they still talk about it and laugh about it whenever they get together.

I haven’t made JELL-O Jugglers since then, but maybe it’s time to be a “cool grandma” and try those “fun” treats just one more time- I mean, they come in sooooooooooo many more colors and flavors now!

Then I can send a plate of them home with each of my grandkids… right AFTER I tell them this story, of course…

Enjoy!

Lynn

Bread & Butter Pickles

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Hi everyone!

It’s What’s Cookin’? Wednesday!

Now that summer has finally arrived (or at least that’s what the calendar says!), back yards, grocery stores, and farmers’ markets are chock full of fresh fruits and veggies!

Last year we planted just TWO cucumber plants and it produced more cucumbers than I knew what to do with!

Because of their high water content, cucumbers don’t freeze well and a person can only eat so many cucumber salads before the “mmmmmm… cucumber salad!” turns into “ugh… cucumber salad, again?!?

Since moving out to the country a couple of years ago, this “city girl” has been slowwwwwwwwly eeking her way into the “country girl” lifestyle. You know what they say… “When in Rome…”…

Ok… so there’s a little more to it than that. Raising two kids with ADHD, and a host of other “issues”, I’ve been looking for healthy alternatives to significantly reduce or completely eliminate the amount of medications that are supposed to help keep them on track.

What better way to start than with their diet, right?!?

I like growing our own food because then I know for SURE what’s in it… or more importantly, what’s NOT in it! Even though I’m still a “novice”… I like canning or freezing our fresh fruits and vegetables! And I LOVE being able to go to my pantry in the middle of winter and see all that GOOD stuff sitting on the shelves… it’s soooooooo purdy! It’s also a huge savings to the food budget 😉

So what else can you do with a boat-load of fresh cucumbers?!? You pickle them, of course!

Here is another recipe that I “borrowed” from my niece… her grandma’s bread & butter pickles!

I tried these out for the first time last year, and they were DELICIOUS! I thought they should’ve been a little “crunchier” than they were, but like I said… I’m still a novice at this whole canning-thing. In hindsight, I think I just let my cucumbers get a little too ripe for pickling, so this year I’ll just harvest them earlier and see what happens!

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Bread & Butter Pickles

Prep Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes

Cook/Bake Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes

Yield: 5-7 pints

Ingredients

  • 12 cucumbers
  • 6 onions
  • 1/2 cup canning/pickling salt
  • 3-1/2 to 4 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons celery seed
  • 4 cups white vinegar

Instructions

  1. Wash and slice cucumbers to your desired thickness
  2. Wash and thinly slice onions
  3. In a large container, combine cucumbers, onions, and canning/pickling salt
  4. Cover with crushed ice and mix well; cover with a towel and let stand for 2-3 hours
  5. When cucumbers are "ready", drain the saltwater, then rinse and drain again
  6. In a Dutch oven combine remaining ingredients, bring to boil, and let boil for 1 minute
  7. Carefully add the cucumber and onions, return to a boil to heat all ingredients thoroughly, then remove from heat
  8. Ladle hot mixture into hot sterilized pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
  9. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, and cover with sterilized lids and rings
  10. Process for 15 minutes (or as directed for your specific geographic location) in a boiling water canner
  11. Let sit untouched in a cool area for 24 hours

Notes

Naturally, you should follow all of the usual canning precautions and test all lids to be sure that they sealed properly before storing any canned foods. I've been told that if a lid did NOT seal, then it should still be safe to consume IF it is immediately refrigerated and eaten within a week or so, but I'm sure those with more canning experience than I have already know the safety procedure for this...

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Depending on the size of your cucumbers, this should yield between 5-7 pints.

A jar of homemade bread & butters pickles makes such a nice addition to cookout, reunion, and holiday menus! Add a pretty little label and a bow, along with another jar or two of something else that you’ve canned from the garden, place in a basket, and you’ve got yourself some nice gift baskets for birthdays and holidays!

Don’t forget to CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE and LEAVE A COMMENT… I’d really like to hear from you!

Enjoy!

Lynn

Ewwwwww… YUK!

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Hi everyone!

It’s Mommy Monday!

I cannot even begin to tell you how utterly grossed out and FREAKED OUT I am right now!

Last night, while driving back from the restaurant, I happened to turn my head slightly to the left to look at a sign on the side of the road when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something… moving…

Since we were traveling on a side road with virtually no traffic, I QUICKLY brought my car to a complete stop, flung my driver’s side door open, and swoooooooooooshed a spider OFF MY ARM!

Whew! I HATE spiders- the ONLY time I will squash one is when there isn’t anyone else around to do it for me!

I’ll admit- this wasn’t a big hairy spider… in fact it was actually kind of small, like maybe the size of a pencil eraser. But it was orange-ish… and ugly… and a SPIDER!

Anyway- we continued on down the road (with one LESS passenger!) to run an errand.

Afterwards, we went home, let the animals out, got the boys to bed, and then I sat down to unwind and relax a little bit.

About 10 minutes into my “relaxation session”, I thought I felt something drop down into my shirt. After the spider “incident”, I was afraid it was another one… so naturally I started doing the “spider dance”… you know… looking down my shirt, in my bra, shaking my shirt, hopping up and down, and frantically brushing off any area of my body that I could reach…

Finally satisfied that I was just still a little jumpy from that totally ICKY thing crawling on my body earlier, I went back to doing what I was doing.

A few hours later (time sure does fly when it’s quiet around here!), I decided it was time to go to bed. I grabbed my PJs off the bed and headed to the bathroom to change so that I could turn on a light without waking my husband up.

I took off my shirt, removed my bra and… OMG!!!… that same #$(%(# spider that I thought I tossed out at the curb hours ago was crawling around on my bra! That “thing” had been next to my skin for 3 hours, and I never even felt it!!!

Honestly, if my husband wasn’t already sleeping, I would’ve screamed like a girl… loud and PROUD!

Instead, I flung my bra into the bathroom sink, shook the spider off, and turned on the faucet full blast for a couple of minutes.

After I calmed down somewhat, I finished getting dressed and went back to the sink to brush my teeth before heading to bed. And just what do you think I found crawling around in the sink bowl?!? YEP! That icky spider… again!!!

How it managed to survive the waterfall from the faucet and all that muck and gunk in the sink drain is beyond me!

So, on goes the water again… this time HOT WATER, and for a good FIVE MINUTES! Ewwwwwwwww! And then I stood there… for five more minutes… just to be SURE that it didn’t manage to somehow climb back up the drain again. Whew! Nothing… good riddance little spider!

Of course, as I was lying in bed, all I could think about was that stupid spider- where it came from, if it was poisonous, if it had bitten me, if there were MORE! YUK!

Then I started thinking that maybe I should’ve taken a picture of it… you know… just in case the emergency room doctors needed to identify the huge hairy spider that bit me and put me in a coma or something!

Sometime later this morning, I finally managed to find a 10 minute “window” to grab a shower. I stepped out of the shower, got dressed, made my bed, put some laundry away, and then went back into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Just as I was reaching out to turn on the faucet, guess what I found?!?

YEP! That stupid spider was back AGAIN!

Big Hairy Spider

Big Hairy Spider

I grabbed a piece of toilet paper, knocked the spider off the faucet and ran out to the kitchen to grab my camera (for the ER doctors, of course!)… hoping it wouldn’t “run away” or HIDE before I could get back to the bathroom!

By the time I made it to the sink, the spider was already crawling around on the toilet paper. I carefully lifted up a corner of the paper, flung it into the toilet, and FLUSHED… TWICE!!!

I don’t know what kind it was, or where it came from, but I swear… if that thing comes back again, I either have an infestation or it’s a mutant ninja spider!

Whichever it is… I can’t seem to get that darned “Itsy Bitsy Spider” song out of my head now… Ugh!

Enjoy…

Lynn

Banana (Nut) Bread

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Hi everyone!

It’s What’s Cookin’? Wednesday!

Banana nut bread has to be one of my all-time favorite comfort foods! I could easily eat an entire loaf all by myself! I absolutely love eating it straight from the oven or warming it up a little in the microwave and smearing butter (the real stuff!) all over it…. mmmmmmmm…..

My first taste came from my grandma’s kitchen. She always seemed to have a loaf sitting on the counter and another one in the freezer every time I came to visit. Over the years, I’ve baked many loaves of banana bread- some using her recipe, and some using other recipes… but mine never seemed to turn out as well as hers did for some reason.

A few years ago, my niece and I were talking about how much we both love banana bread. She remembered having a recipe that her grandma used, and I figured I would give it a try.

This recipe made the PERFECT loaf of banana bread… each and every time. It’s sooooooo moist and full of flavor! I almost feel like a traitor when I say it’s my new “favorite” recipe for banana bread (sorry, Grandma 😉 )

Most of the recipes I’ve used in the past listed butter as the “fatty” ingredient, but this one uses shortening. I really think that’s what makes this bread so much different than the others.

AND… this recipe will make TWO loaves of banana bread instead of one! So now when I make it, not only do I get to “stash” a loaf away for myself, but now my family can enjoy it, too… It’s a win/win!!!

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Banana (Nut) Bread

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook/Bake Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3-1/2 cups flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt (I use popcorn salt for ALL my baking, but that's just a personal preference)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 cups ripened bananas - mashed (the riper, the better!)
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup shortening
  • 1-1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 to 1-1/2 cup chopped walnuts- OPTIONAL

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Grease and flour TWO loaf pans
  3. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in large bowl
  4. Mash bananas in a small bowl and blend in lemon juice
  5. Cream shortening, sugar and eggs together in a large bowl
  6. Slowly add the sifted ingredients, alternating with milk, to the creamed mixture
  7. Fold in banana mixture (and walnuts, if using)
  8. Pour half the batter into each prepared pan
  9. Bake for approximately 1 hour, depending on your oven
  10. Let cool for 5 minutes or so, then remove from pans and cool on wire racks
  11. Hide one loaf and share the other with your family OR wrap and freeze for later... haha!
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Actually, since my husband prefers it without walnuts and I prefer it with, I usually pour half of the batter into the first pan, and then add the chopped walnuts to the remaining batter before pouring it into the second pan…

If you like banana bread, then this is definitely a “must-try” recipe!

Don’t forget to CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE and LEAVE A COMMENT to let me know what you think…

Enjoy!

Lynn

Charlie and Me…

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Hi everyone!

It’s Mommy Monday!

Ok, so I may be just a bit “prejudiced”, but I believe that being a mom is one of THE hardest jobs on earth. I have no doubt that being a dad can be pretty challenging at times, too, but there’s just something about the “maternal bond” that a mother has with her child. It’s not like ANYTHING else I’ve ever experienced… and, good OR bad, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

It doesn’t matter if you birth them, blend them, or adopt them- every mother has a path to travel with her child… lessons to learn… and a story to tell.

I have a story for Charlie… my oldest son… it goes like this…

Dear Charlie,

Well, here it is again… July.

July has become a very confusing month for me.

On one hand, the month of July brings back a flood of “heartprint” memories. July of 1979 was the final month of my very first pregnancy… the month that my world as I knew it would forever be changed.

I was going to be a mommy! I was so excited… and scared to death!

I remember not being sure if I was ready for this…

It was a huge reality-check when I entered into the “nesting” phase.. the tiny little onesies, sleepers, and cute little boy outfits all washed and neatly folded, bottles washed, diapers and receiving blankets stocked, cradle set up, infant seat in the car, suitcase packed, etc., etc., etc.

Ready or not, it was time to be a “grown up”.

I was anxious to start this new phase of my life… I just had to wait for you… and wait… and wait!

You were supposed to be here on the 19th of June, but that date came and went… and you still weren’t ready. Sheesh! You weren’t even born yet, and you already had a mind of your own! Finally on the very LAST day of June, I started feeling something… regularly… painfully… and for the next 56 hours!

I can still remember holding you for the first time, your first tooth (4 months old!), first word (uh-oh!), first steps (6-1/2 months old!), first ice cream cone (9 months), first day of school (4 years- nursery school!), first Little League game (6 years), and every single one of your other “firsts”… because they were MY firsts, too.

You were the first grandchild… the first grandson! You had your grandpa wrapped around your little finger from the moment he laid eyes on you.

The baby years started off rough… colic was NOT fun for either of us! Teething wasn’t a pleasant experience either! But potty training?!? You NAILED it! One week and you were completely out of diapers… day AND night! Your terrible two’s lasted until you were nearly four… but once we got past that stage, it was a whole lot easier on both of us! I was constantly amazed at the personality you were developing… it was soooooo big… for such a little boy!

The funny, loving, and inquisitive side of you always made my heart melt… the mischievous side of you definitely kept me on my toes! You were fascinated with taking things apart to see how they worked… He-Man was your hero… school was FUN… and your brother was your best friend!

You were growing up so fast… and I was still trying to figure out how this whole “parenthood” thing worked.

I tried to teach you the things that I hoped would make you a better person… not realizing that you were also teaching me how to be a better parent.

We both struggled through your adolescent years…

you- trying to gain more control…

and me- not quite sure how much of it I was supposed to let go.

I was beside you as you fought your demons going into adulthood. I was always looking for the answers… for both of us… though I wasn’t even really sure what the questions were. I spent countless nights praying that God would keep you safe, re-evaluating my parenting skills, wondering how I could’ve missed the “signs”, and struggling to find a way to “fix” what you thought was so wrong in your life.

To this day, I’m still not sure if I was unwilling or just unable to understand the power it had over you. It was probably a little of both.

For years, every single day was an emotional roller coaster- fear, shock, disbelief, helplessness, hope, disappointment, frustration, and then… back to fear again.

My heart always hoped for the best… even as my head tried to prepare me for the worst- and you knew, deep down, that you were dragging my heart along with you on your journey through hell.

I know you knew… because you would always pick up the phone to call me. No matter how bad things got for you, you always made sure to “check in” with a phone call every few days… you knew that I needed to hear your voice just as much as you needed to hear mine. Even when you’d say, “I’m okay, mom”… I knew that you weren’t. You were scared- and I was terrified! It didn’t matter how the conversation went… we always ended our calls with “I love you”… no matter what.

Feeling helpless is NOT one of my finest traits… and you knew that, too. I suppose it’s all part of that “maternal bond” I was talking about earlier…

I don’t care what anyone says… it doesn’t matter how old you are… it will ALWAYS be MY job to protect you… because I’m the MOM… and that’s what moms are supposed to do! But I was failing… miserably. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to protect you from the things that were hurting you… because it didn’t work that way. As badly as I wanted it FOR you… YOU had to want it for yourself. It took me a long time to understand and accept that.

People kept telling me that “relapse is a part of recovery”… but it took me a long time to understand and accept that, too.

The two of us did a lot of talking, hoping, promising, forgiving, and crying during your periods of sobriety… but, mostly I continued to pray… and hope. And you know what?!? It worked! YOU did it… I was sooooooooo proud of you! For the first time in years you had the sparkle back in your eyes and the laughter back in your soul.

After you made the decision to take your life back… one day at a time… you began to move forward. You started working toward repairing and rebuilding the relationships between you and your sons. You knew it would be a slow and challenging process, but at least you were heading in the right direction.

You were given another chance at fatherhood when your baby daughter was born. I loved watching you… watching her. You always seemed in “awe” of this tiny little baby. Whenever you held her, there was a smile on your face and a light in your eyes… and you were loving every minute of it!

Then, you took the first steps towards rebuilding the many bridges that you had burned along the way… some took more work than others… others were damaged beyond repair. You handled both situations with understanding, maturity, and respect. I can only imagine how humbling that step of the program must have been for you.

I finally had my family back together again! I really missed your smile, your laughter, and your wit. We all did. It was so nice to see you happy and making plans for the future.

I love that we could talk about anything… and everything… and sometimes nothing at all. You were no longer just my son… you became one of my best friends.

So, WHY is July such a confusing month for me?!?

Because on the other hand, it brings back a flood of heart-shattering memories.

July of 2012 was the final month of your life on this earth… the month that my world as I knew it would forever be changed.

I’m sure I was NOT ready for this…

I love you… always and forever… my son, my friend, my angel,

Mom

Oval Side Table

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Hi everyone!

It’s Fun Project Friday!

I love finding treasures at estate sales! You can usually score some well-built furniture for a pretty fair price. Granted, most of the estate has already been “picked over” and divided up among family members first, but really… just HOW MUCH furniture can one person cram into their home?!? Never mind… don’t answer that! And, don’t ever ask my husband that question either- because he’ll just roll his eyes and laugh at you… ugh!

Anyway… other than keeping a few items for sentimental reasons, most of the furniture from an estate is set up for sale. And, since the family would rather sell it than store it, they are VERY willing to negotiate.

That’s how I found this oval side table. I really liked the height and decorative look of this table, but the veneer was in pretty bad shape. My best guess is that the table was previously used as a plant stand because there was some obvious water damage to the top. Much of the veneer was cracked in several places and had pulled away from the wood underneath.

I’m pretty sure the seller thought that it was damaged beyond hope- which is probably why he offered it to me at such a ridiculously low price. Heck… even my husband questioned why I was even considering it! I just told him to “trust me!“… and secretly hoped I wouldn’t be eating my words later!

I bought this table for two reasons…

1) I remembered reading that it was very common for furniture makers to place veneer over really nice wood when building higher quality furniture. Unlike much of the furniture built today, it wasn’t considered “cheap”, by any means!

and…

2) For the price I paid, I really didn’t have much to lose to find out if #1 was fact or fiction!

I recently mentioned this tidbit of information to my niece when she was debating on whether or not an old dresser she found tossed out to the curb was worth refurbishing. You can imagine her excitement when she discovered that underneath all that damaged veneer was a beautiful dresser made entirely of solid oak!

I couldn’t wait to see if MY “reveal” would be equally exciting! In fact, I was so anxious to see what was underneath the veneer on my side table that I forgot to take a before picture… but here are a few from just after I began working on it…

Oval side table- Before

Oval side table- Before

Once I saw the green and natural color striations in the wood, I knew that if the water damage was minimal, then I just wanted to preserve the beauty of this wood with a natural stain.

Oval side table top- Before

Oval side table top- Before

Unfortunately, the damage was too deeply engrained in the wood… Grrrrrrrrr…..

Oval side table- Removing veneer

Oval side table- Removing veneer

I was going to “shabby” it up, but decided to just give it a thorough cleaning and leave the table frame just as it was. The table top definitely needed to be stained, so after a good sanding, I used Minwax Jacobean stain and applied three coats of Minwax Polycrylic for topcoat protection. I probably should have used two coats of stain as well, but if you look closely, you can see that using a single coat actually allowed some of the green striations in the wood to show through… and I thought it looked pretty cool that way.

Oval side table top- After

Oval side table top- After

And here is the finished product…

Oval side table- After

Oval side table- After

I really like how it turned out, don’t you?

So, the next time you come across a piece of furniture that looks like it’s beyond hope… don’t give up on it! With some patience and elbow grease, that ugly duckling might just turn out to be your beautiful swan 😉

Don’t forget to CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE and LEAVE A MESSAGE… I’d love to hear what you think!

Enjoy!

Lynn

Cauliflower Salad

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Hi everyone!

It’s What’s Cookin’? Wednesday!

I have the BEST side dish for you to make for your next cookout!

I can’t take any of the credit for this one… since I kinda “borrowed” this recipe from my mom… who “borrowed” it from my aunt. Usually I’ll tweak a recipe that’s been shared (just enough to make it my own), but this one was perfect from the start.

No matter how it made it’s way into my little recipe box (or ummm…pile), it’s still a GREAT recipe!

And the best part?!? It has BACON! mmmmmmmm…………

Print
Cauliflower Salad

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook/Bake Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 head cauliflower- washed and separated into smaller bite-sized pieces
  • 1 head lettuce- washed and chopped
  • 1 lb. bacon- cooked and crumbled
  • 1 cup walnuts (optional)- chopped
  • 1 small to medium onion- diced
  • 1 small block of your favorite cheese- diced or cubed (I've tried cheddar, pepper jack, and colby with great results!)
  • 3/4 - 1 cup Miracle Whip
  • Sugar- to taste

Instructions

  1. Combine cauliflower, lettuce, bacon, walnuts, onion, and cheese in a large bowl.
  2. In a smaller bowl, mix Miracle Whip with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar (depending on your taste preference) to achieve a slightly sweet, but still somewhat "tangy" dressing.
  3. Pour the "dressing" into the large bowl and toss until all ingredients are coated. (I usually stir the ingredients together enough to distribute the dressing, and then seal the bowl with a tight-fitting lid and shake, shake, shake!)
  4. Refrigerate at least one hour prior to serving for best results.

Notes

If I make this dish several hours ahead of time, I usually omit the lettuce before refrigerating, and then add it just prior to serving so that it still has a little "crunch" to it.

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I’ve also added diced cucumbers and/or diced tomatoes to this dish and it STILL tastes amazing!

Try this for your next cookout… I’ll bet you won’t have any leftovers 😉

Don’t forget to CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE and LEAVE A COMMENT to let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

Lynn

Adding to the Nest…

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Hi everyone!

It’s Mommy Monday!

I’m not sure if this crazy weather has my immune system all confused or if it’s because my rapidly aging body is just worn out and is no match for this new generation of ninja germs, but I’ve been feeling a little under the weather lately… again!

For the past 3 days, I’ve been living off a diet of pain relievers, fever reducers, mucus busters and cough suppressants. I’m FINALLY starting to feel some improvement in the symptoms, but it needs to go away… faster!

I waited ALL WINTER for the frigid temperatures to break and RUMMAGE SALE SEASON (yay!) to start… so I’m not about to let a few nasty germs keep me home!!! I’ve been taking full advantage of every opportunity to build up my “inventory”… because that’s the ONLY way a “project junkie” can stay busy through the long winter months in MY neck of the woods!!!

This past Saturday was no exception… even though I was feeling like crap, I sucked it up and decided to go see what kind of “treasures” we could find. I remember taking a healthy dose of my “feel better” medications, and then climbed into the truck with two very reluctant pre-teens… and my designated driver, of course!

We passed a few sales and stopped at a few- picking up a couple of little things here and there, but not really find anything that I was looking for… or NEEDED.

The next thing I remember is walking away from a sale and climbing back into the truck with my designated driver, two now NOT-so-reluctant pre-teens, and two things I was not expecting to bring home…

Isabella

Isabella

Kai

Kai

I’m not really sure WHAT I was thinking… but I’m pretty sure this was NOT my fault!

I guess maybe I’m just not ready for an empty nest… at least not yet anyway…

Enjoy!

Lynn