My New Love

This is my new panini maker and grill. I picked it up at Costco this week because I needed something new to cook with. I love it! I use it to grill meat and quesadillas, but my favorite is panini sandwiches. This is the recipe for my favorite sandwich:

Ingredients:
1 can chicken
sliced swiss cheese
sliced tomato
mayonnaise
whole wheat bread

Directions:
Drain canned chicken, add 2T of mayo and mix in a bowl. Place 1 slice of bread in the hot panini maker and add the ingredients in this order: 1 slice of swiss, some of the chicken mixture, a slice or two of tomato, 1 slice of swiss and bread. Grill on medium. Yum!

"I love orange cars!"

Mason's favorite color is orange and he loves cars, so it is only natural that he would love orange cars! He often asks me to pull up some pictures of orange cars on the internet so he can look at them. Here are a few of his favorites from today:

Help Me Build My City

A co-worker and I made a city at a website we stumbled on and each visit by a person helps us make it grow. Please click on each of the links below and it will help the city out in the following way:

Population

http://boonesfarm.myminicity.com/

Industry

http://boonesfarm.myminicity.com/ind

Transportation

http://boonesfarm.myminicity.com/tra

Thanks!

Striking a Pose

This picture was taken of Joe at a Wednesday night mutual activity called 'British Bull-Dogs' (a kind of rough boy game full of sweat, wrestling and running) . Joe is just being silly for the boys and there happened to be a camera on location.

What I Love About My Kids

The house was awfully quiet this afternoon, so I went to see what the kids were up to. I found them in a corner of Leah's room with stuff piled all around them (their 'horse corral') and Leah was reading a book to Mason. They usually get along fairly well, but it always makes me so happy to see them treating each other kindly and having fun together!

Small Things Bring Great Joy

This afternoon, a police car hit our van in the parking lot while we were shopping. It was just a little scratch, but we had to wait for the policewoman to fill out paperwork and for her supervisor to come and document the accident. ( I was embarrassed because our car was so dirty!) The wait turned out to be a whole lot of fun for Leah and Mason because they got to sit in the back of the police car! They even got a sticker. Little things sure can be fun. (Below is a picture of Leah and Mason wearing their police sticker badges.)

In Memory of Leland Ralph Horrocks-Thanks Chad and Emily!

What a Fun Birthday Party!

Leah went to her friend Olivia's birthday party this weekend and what a party it was! Her mom sewed the girls matching cheerleading outfits and even had cheerleaders come and teach the girls a thing or two. Olivia's mom is quite a crafty woman! Leah had a wonderful time.

Happy Birthday Joe!

Here is how Joe spent his birthday:

Janell and Leah made Joe a nice birthday breakfast in the morning (French toast with strawberries and sausage).

Renee, Abbie and Stan came over in the morning and brought some presents and the two cupcakes you see in the picture. They stayed for a while to visit. It was nice to see them!

Joe took the day of from work and we went out to lunch at the Olive Garden. We spent the rest of the day relaxing at home! It was a well deserved break for Joe. He had a big project at work that opened up last week and he was pretty tired. He hoped to get some projects done around the house, but not much got done.

A Fun Thing to Try-Pin Curls!

Leah got her hair trimmed this week and the lady who cuts her hair told me how to do pin curls. They turned out cute for church today! Here's how to do it: Buy some hair pins and spray gel at a beauty supply place. After a bath, towel dry the hair, put on a movie on start pinning (It takes a little while to do)! All you do is part the hair where you would usually part it and then take small sections, spray them with spray gel, roll them from tip to root with your fingers and pin them flat on the head with the flat part of the pin toward the scalp. Wear them to bed, take them out in the morning and separate them a bit. The curls are so cute and they stay all day long!

Quick and Easy Quesadillas

This is a recipe that everyone at our house loves and I almost always make it when I can't think of what else to make and I'm short on time. It always sounds good!

Ingredients (for a family of 4):

2 cans of black beans (rinsed)
Grated cheese (feta cheese is good, but use whatever you have on hand.)
1-2 cans of white chicken meat
1-2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
taco seasoning (to taste)
water (just a bit if everything is too dry)

Flour Tortillas
Favorite toppings (salsa, sour cream, tomatoes, olives, avocado, chopped lettuce, etc.)

Directions:
Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl. Lightly oil a large skillet and put it on the stove on medium heat. Place a tortilla on the hot skillet and spoon on the bean, chicken and cheese mix. Fold the tortilla in half and cook on each side until golden brown. Serve hot and with your favorite toppings.

Tagged by Katie

What were you doing 10 years ago?
In 1998, I was 17 years old and in my Senior year of High School. (I can't believe that was 10 years ago!) I was working at Dairy Queen and I drove a 1989 white Honda Civic. I met Joe in '97 and went on our first date 10 years ago on January 30th. We went out to dinner at the Olive Garden and afterwards we went to see the movie "Titanic".

Also, 10 years ago on February 2nd, my Grandma Litle passed away. All of our family was there with her when she died.

5 things on my to-do list today:
(It's late, so I'll write it for tomorrow)
1. Watch President Hinkley's Funeral
2. Take Leah to Grandpa's house to get her pictures taken
3. Go to a baby shower in the afternoon
4. Laundry (lots of laundry)
5. Go to the grocery store (Why does this always end up on the bottom of the list? Because I hate going grocery shopping!)

Things I would do if I were suddenly made a a billionaire:
Buy a new car and a house in the country with lots of room for the kids to run around. I'd also travel a bit.

2 of my bad habits:
1. Complaining
2. Sleeping in

5 places I have lived:
I've always lived in the same city.

5 Jobs I have had:
1. Child Care Provider
2. Courtesy Clerk at Safeway
3. Nursing Assistant
4. Data Entry at a Collection Agency
5. Mom

5 Things people don't know about me:
1. I enjoy organizing things around the house and I am always buying storage bins and baskets. (Joe always teases me about this.)
2. I am a bit of a germaphobe and I always have a bottle of hand sanitizer on hand.
3. I feel more grumpy and depressed in the winter when it is cold, wet and dark all the time.
4. I love going on long walks and hikes.
5. Swimming in lakes scares me to death when I can't see the bottom.

Heritage Makers Website

I found this website today and I think it is such a neat idea!

http://www.heritagemakers.com