it's getting cold out....

i'm a wimp when it comes to cold.

the kids though... they seem happy in the cold

seem to forget coats and i have to constantly remind them

"put a coat on..it's cold"

"shut the door..it's cold"

i'm a wimp in the cold

my plate

lately i've been frustrated at how much easier it is for me to put on the lbs....

i know some have said when you hit 30 it's hard to lose weight and easier to gain...

which i have really found truth in that.

i've also notice having a hysterectomy shortly after my 30's isn't helping matters either.

i read that after a hysterectomy most women gain 20 to 30 lbs. Yikes.

with all that being said and with me starting to notice my figure looking more roundish i decided

to get more active. i've join Zumba classes as well as bands class to try and stay moving.

raising two almost teens, my life is busy with their sports and activities that i'm finding it hard
to make important time for myself to stay in shape. as well as cooking healthier meals.
it's hard to cook healthy when you have so much going on.
anyway my mom introduced me to my daily plate online.
it has helped some of her friends to lose or atleast keep track of their calories and activities daily.
i'm hoping it will help me too get rid of a few extra lbs.
now if i can just find the time to go there daily to mark stuff down.
wish me luck.

~our left over ham~

thanksgiving was at our house this year and we served turkey and ham.

since thanksgiving i've been trying to decide what to do with my leftovers.

So for supper we had breakfast

(which we'll probably eat again in the morning)

this is a great recipe that my kids even both agree on

(doesn't happen in our house often where both kids are happy at the dinner table.)

egg & ham casserole

1/2 cup margarine, melted

1- 20 oz. bag frozen Ore-Ida Savory seasoned hash browns

12 eggs

1 cup milk

4 cups mild cheddar cheese, shredded

2 cups cooked ham, small cubes

layer frozen hash browns on bottom of 9"x13" pan. pour melted butter over hash browns. mix eggs, milk, cheese, and ham together in a large bowl. pour over top of the hash browns.

bake at 350 for 1 hour. remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes.

serve.

'tis the season~

we did it...we put the Christmas tree up

it does not seem possible that Christmas is around the corner.

but with this past week of Thanksgiving, (turkey and dressing)

black friday shopping and college football coming to a close.

it's becoming real.

are you ready?

this was very real for us yesterday...

good thing it's a short work week....

basketball tonight against sidney~

tonight the girls play. i'm a little excited to see how far they've come from last season.

~lovely email~

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
-Josh Billings

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.
-Andy Rooney

 Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.
-Roger Caras

rec'd this email first thing this morning and i admit....it made me smile. these are the two photo's i loved the most...i wish i had a cute, well behaved, loving friend like this around.

my craft fair finds...

saturday morning I headed to the craft fair here in town. decided to grab me some decorations.

the lady who's booth i found these at was very busy that day.

she was very creative and did well selling almost everything that day.

came home with baked goods as well.

sweet potatoes..yummy recipe.

I tried this RECIPE the other day for my family to try and to get a taste of Thanksgiving just around the corner.

Sweet potatoes and stuffing are two of my favorite things on the table that day.

It was yummy, and I will be making it again on Thanksgiving Day for our family coming over.

(and probably again and again sometime after that)

Friday..and looking forward to the weekend.

Have a party to attend tonight...clothing party and i've never been to one like this.  Should be interesting.
CAbi is the name. Take a peek if you'd like HERE.  Then tomorrow headed to our small towns craft fair in hopes to find some Christmas gifts.  Haven't really started Christmas shopping yet and it's starting to make me panic...Even though I know "Christ"mas isn't about all the gifts.
I think the panic is coming from some friends who say they are done shopping and I haven't even given it much thought yet.

The boys are headed out deer hunting again saturday morning (brady shot one of his deers last weekend) and of course my hubby did not have the camera. he did get a not-so-good-shot with his phone that i may post later. Anyway while they do that I will be baking a dessert and salad for church on Sunday as we are having our thanksgiving dinner.  This is always a good time with good food.

So there it is the weekend planned out. (oh yeah I forgot we are putting the tree up) And yes my husband thought I was crazy early on this too by the way.

recipe for an army wife

1-1/2 cups patience
1 lb adaptability
3/4 cup tolerance
1 tsp. courage
A dash of adventure.

combine above ingredients. add two tablespoons elbow grease. let sit alone for one year. marinate frequently with salty tears. pour off excess fat and sprinkle ever so lightly with money. knead dough until payday. season with a lot of international spices. bake for 20 years or longer, until done.

serve with pride.

National Guard Soldier & Family Foundations.

baking

love these

i was invited to an at home america party which i love.

i find it stressful attending these parties because i love most everything

i see and can't decide which things i need want the most.
but these were a must have on my list
(or maybe a great gift idea for someone)
makes me want to bake more.

nerds....

before we get to far from the Halloween season that just past i thought i'd share brooke's buddies

who had a teen Halloween dance to raise money for DC trip in May

more from the dance here

anyway, i thought they did really good at acting and dressing the part.

Should, "She Obey Him?"

very good read for your saturday morning:

 Your Sacred Calling 

hope you enjoy! i know it went well with my cup of tea.

Thank You Veterans!

dear husband, you rock!

i am honored tonight to sit with you and all the other veterans of our community and enjoy

visiting with them/you at the soup supper tonight!!

Thank You!

I'm grateful not just today, but everyday!

More Here

coach caskey...

my son was so excited when he received this letter from his coach in the mail

with it was the newspaper article brady was in for making honor roll

the first quarter.

it's nice to have a coach that cares for the boys and not just about football, he teaches

them about how important their grades are and how important it is to be in church on wed.

so we don't practice on wed.

the world needs more people like coach caskey!

"it's a beautiful night out....

one thing i love about children is the things they say.  I often wonder where they come up with some of these things they say just out of the blue.

my son brady is good great at this. last night went something like this.

chuck and i tuck brady in and then head to bed ourselves. while laying there trying to fall asleep a couple rooms away from brady's room we hear brady say:

"it sure is a beautiful night out"

i roll over and say to chuck

"what did he say"

(knowing very well what he said but was clueless at why he said it, so had to ask chuck to make sure he heard it too)

at this point i'm thinking... did he get out of bed and look out the window or why is he mentioning the nice night.

so chuck and i together yell through the house

"what?''

And brady again says

"it's a beautiful night we are having.......the stars are out all over my walls"

now chuck and i have lost it. we were giggling so hard at him.

brady has neon stars that fill his ceiling and light up his room in the night

and last night he was looking up at them and in his little world (or room of his own)

he was having a beautiful night as he lay falling asleep under his stars.

softest sugar cookies recipe...

i've said this before but my favorite cookbooks are those that come together from

Churches..

we cooked some of the softest sugar cookies this weekend

and i like my cookies soft!

i loved this recipe so much i want to share.

not the cookies, but the recipe.

i'll share the recipe.

soft sugar cookies

• 1 c. margarine                      
• 2 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 1-3/4 tsp. vanilla
• 5 c. flour
• 1-3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 tsp. salt

cream margarine and sugar, add eggs.  combine buttermilk and vanilla. add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk mixture. knead a small amount of flour into dough, then roll out to a little less than 1/4 inch thickness. cut into desired shapes.(we chose pumpkin, skeleton, shapes of course) Bake on greased cookie sheets for 6-8 minutes at 375 just until set, not brown. Frost. makes approximately 5 dozen cookies.

Frosting

• 3 T melted margarine or butter
• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 2 or 3 T. milk or cream
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 tsp. almond extract

Mix all ingredients until smooth.

cousins

brooke & alex

 i get lots of comments on how brooke and alex

look like brother and sister instead of cousins.

this is not so much surprising since my brother jeff married tammy

who is my husband's sister.

that's right and it's ok. just sounds strange.

i guess you can say i married my brother's bride's brother.

;)

where can i sign up??

just because it's monday and we are all i'm coming off my sugar high after this weekend....