January 2012 Menu

JANUARY 2012

1 Ham, turnip greens, peas, dressing,
potato salad
2Chicken noodle soup
3 Jack’s
4Tacos
5 Shrimp salad, cookies
6 Steak, salad, baked potato
7 Santa Fe soup
8 Enchiladas, beans, rice, salad
9 Leftovers
10 Jack’s
11 Spaghetti, salad, bread, peach
cobbler
12 Peas, fried okra, potato salad,
cornbread
13 Sloppy joe’s, fries, slaw
14 Breakfast casserole, friend apples,
toast
15 Beefstew, cake
16 Pork chops, green beans, corn, fried
potatoes
17 Jack’s
18 Sauted squash, peas, friend green
tomatoes, cornbread
19 Burgers, fries, salad, peanut butter
fudge
20 Brats, slaw, chips
21 OUT
22 Cornmeal chicken, mashed potatoes,
gravy, green beans, biscuits
23 Butterpeas, cornbread,
mac&cheese, fried potatoes
24 Broccoli and cheese soup
25 Chili, cornbread
26 Gravy, biscuits, sausage
27 Nacho bar
28 OUT
29 Roast, carrots, potatoes
30 Potato soup 31 Jack’s

Happy New Year!!!

Resolutions......smooshutions! Blah! I really don't like to make resolutions! One fellow blogger summed it up as why set yourself up for failure! Here are a few things I would like tomake happen in 2012; however if they don't I REFUSE to beat myself over them!

1. Blog daily.
2. Take more pics.
3. Read Bible daily and get through it in one year.
4. Read 2 + booke per month.
5. Read more to my boys.
6. Restart daily devo and prayers with hubby as a couple.
7. Read Bible and pray daily with boys and hubby as a family.
8. Declutter and organize!
9. Keep my toenails painted and my feet in great shape.
10. Paint and redo master bath
11. Get new kitchen counter tops
12. Actually stick to a defined budget and put more $ back.
13. Finish cookbook and get it to the publisher
14. Get back to my "magic number" weight wise! ;)
15. Organize pics and clean off some of our sd cards.
16. Use more kind and encouraging words with my family.
17. Surrender and trust more fully in God.

So what do you want to accomplish in 2012? New Year Blessings on you and your family!

August, September and October

Here are the boys for Halloween. John was Spiderman and Mason was Optimus Prime (a Transformer).

We also got a Border Collie; her name is Mia! She was rescued from a puppy mill in Georgia last Christmas. She is almost a year and a half old.

For our anniversary hubby and I purchased me a new vehicle! It is a 2011 GMC Acadia. It seats 7 and we LOVE it! The Durango was not cutting it any longer. When I would take my foot off of the accelator it would go dead; most of the time in the middle of the road! We had it to three different places (one being a dealership) and NOONE could find what was wrong with it. Back in September I was making a left handed turn and it went dead, an 18 wheeler almost hit it becaise it did not want to crank back up. It was past time to trade! The best thing is that I do NOT have a payment!!! We were so blessed to have enough $$$$$ to pay for it ourselves!

This is me and the boys on my birthday! I turned 35 this year! So proud to be here EVERY year!

This was the boy's first homecoming at school! They were so excited to wear their homecoming tee shirts and support their Panthers!

This is my Daddy (on the far right) and some of his brothers and sisters. We were celebrating my Uncle Jack's birthday (he is the one is navy striped shirt). September 15

This is my parents! We were celebrating my Daddy's birthday August 20th! Aren't they a great looking couple?! Daddy was 78 this year!

This is mason on his first day of Kindergarten! What a cutie!

This is John on his first day of Kindergarten! Also a cutie! We had the boys separated this year and they have different teachers.

Here I am with the boys on their frist day of BIG school! I was down 41 pounds here!

John is already to go!

Mason is too!

John with posion (oak or ivey) one of the two! It was so bad that he had to get a shot and a steroid pack! Poor thing!

Some of the peaches we grew!

Some of the Red Gala apples we grew! These trees are in our front yard.

The boys riding in the trailer being pulled by the four wheeler. Aren't they cute in their rubber boots?! They are headed into the apple orchard to pick!

Here is John picking! Look how many are already in his basket!!

Here's Mason! He was trying to get his basket full quicker! LOL! Those are half bushel size baskets!

Here are the boys in the tomato field! John planted 6 Cherry plants and Mason planted 6 Roma plants

. They picked 7 pecks (8 quarts baskets) off of the 12 plants and sold them for a total of $88. They spilt the money and put it in their savings! Here you see them picking and Pawpaw in the back supervising! :) That winds up August, September and October! I will get November up soon! I have missed blogging but real life must come first! Hoping someone somewhere still reads my blog! ;) See you soon!

Meal Plan for August

The last few months have been hard. So many sick and then John and I dieting. I have not cooked as much as usual. I have so, so missed it. Work is still crazy but I am determined to cook! ;) John is finished with all 4 phases of the diet and his metabolism has reset! It is amazing! I am finishing up phase 2 hopefully this week! He has lost a total of 56 pounds! Go baby! I am so proud of you! He went from a 36 size pant to a 30 and from an XL shirt to a medium! I will post my details when I get finished. Anyhow, here is the menu plan for the month of August, at least for most of the family. I may not always eat what is listed, as I am still following the diet protocol.

1 Spaghetti, tossed salad, corn on cob, garlic cheese bread, grape salad
2 Waffles, sausage, fresh fruit/BBQ salad, fresh cantaloupe
3 Southwest pork tenderloin, Spanish rice, black beans,
4 Leftovers
5 Chicken alfredo, whole kernel corn, green beans, fresh peaches
6 OUT-Seafood buffet
7 Enchiladas, tossed salad, chips, cheese dip, fresh watermelon
8 Lemon pepper boneless pork chops, fried okra, butter peas, potato salad, peach cobbler
9 Fish sticks, chips/ Leftovers
10 BLT’s, oven fries, fried green tomatoes
11 Sloppy joes, salad, leftover oven fries, fresh peaches
12 Chef salad, Texas cheese fries
13 Chicken and dumplings, salad, fresh peaches
14 Chili cheese dogs, slaw, chips, dip
15 Potato crusted fish, fried cabbage, corn on cob, fresh watermelon
16 Taco salad, chips, salsa, Peach delight
17 Fried “Krispy” Chicken, gravy, biscuits, mashed potatoes, green beans
18 BBQ beef, Salad, Oven fries
19 Chicken cordon bleu casserole, leftover green beans, fresh cantaloupe
20 OUT-Daddy’s Birthday, homemade peach ice cream
21 Ole farm breakfast casserole, fried apples, cinnamon raisin toast, hm apple butter
22 Quesadilla pie, tossed salad, leftover ice cream
23 Bacon cheeseburgers, onion rings, salad
24 Fried green tomatoes, butter peas, mac & cheese, kraut & wieners, fried potatoes
25 Oven fried pork chops, green beans, rice, fried apples
26 Steak & eggs breakfast casserole, fresh fruit salad, toast
27 Broccoli & cheese soup w/ Hawaiian bread/ Leftovers
28 Steak fingers, green beans, biscuits, gravy, mashed potatoes
29 Brats on the grill, hm potato chips, slaw, fresh watermelon
30 Slow cooker lasagna, tossed salad, garlic cheese bread
31 Hamburger noodle casserole, tossed salad, peach cobbler

So, what's cooking????

Blessings!

And There Was June

June has come and almost gone! It is difficult for me to find time to blog as of late. Here's a glimpse of what is going on here on the farm and in our lives.

John and I saw the dermatologist at the beginning of the month. I had one place removed and John had seven removed. Mine was fine. John has 2 to come back as pre cancer and one as melanoma. He had surgery last Monday the 20th. He has 8 stitches inside and 10 outside. The doctor says there is less than 5% of a chance they will have to go back in again.

John has now lost 53 pounds since March 7th. I am down 30 something. We are very excited!

I am working MANY hours as of late. Things are getting busier as time goes on and it is hard with the little ones in tow. I am blessed though!

My Mom is making remarkable progress with the HSV Encephalitis. Her brain is healing and she is overcompensating for the loss of it. She started keeping her own house and is cooking some from memory now. The neuro doc is amazed and says it is not of his doing but the Lord's! Amen to that!!! WE do not have to see him or the infectious disease doc for 3 months and the best news is that if Mom is still progressing at this rate.........he will let her start driving again!!! YAY! She is staying with Daddy in the afternoon for the last couple of open hours at our market each day. WE did find out that she has Celiac disease though and that has been interesting finding out what she can and CANNOT have to eat. Also, she had a pain block today in her back for the pain.

The boys are doing well and I cannot believe that they start to Kindergarten in 6 short weeks! They are so very excited and I am too (for them)!!!

The farm is hopping! We are picking peaches, nectarines, apples. blueberries, tomatoes (green and ripe), squash, zucchini, cucumbers, cabbage and cantaloupes. We have finished the broccoli. Most of the plums were froze out. We have 300 plum trees and might pick 20 baskets overall. Not good!
They are picking about 200 baskets of peaches a day and in the next few weeks that will increase to 400-600 a day.

We have had some excitement around here as of late. Several more storms (thankfully no tornadoes) but we have had 70mph winds and more. Someone was snooping around at the back of the house last Saturday night about 9pm (the boys and I were home by ourselves) and they even knocked on the door. Scary!

Oh and if you like Paula Deen, pick up the September/October issue of her magazine. The magazine folks were here at our farm last month and it appears as though the farm and my sister in law will be featured in it!!!!! SCREAM! We love us some Paula Deen!!!!

Well, the bed is calling my name. It'll be a long day tomorrow. Lots of work at different places.

Happy June!!

Responsibility

We have always stressed the importance of responsibilty to the boys. They turned 5 in March. Here is a list of their chores and responsibilities.

1. Make their beds


2. Put their dirty clothes away


3. Cleaning their rooms


4. Setting the table


5. Clearing the table


6. Bringin in groceries and things from the car


7. Putting groceries and things away


8. Helping fold laundry (washclothes, kitchen linens)


9. Unloading the dishwasher (no knives or glass)


10. Helping with supper prep


11. Brushing their teeth and flossing of a morning (we do their bedtime brushing and flossing)


12. Dressing themselves


13. Putting their laundry away


14. Emptying indoor trash cans


15. Keeping their toys picked up and put away outside

So how old are your children and what responsibilities do they have around the house?

Hodge Podge

Just a few days after I posted last we were bombarded with straight line winds and tornados. Two tornados hit within 5 miles of us. Straight line winds took out many apple trees and many large trees as well. We were blessed, we are all safe and no structural damage. WE lost a good but of food due to the long power outage.

Daddy's ribs are better! His bp is still dipping some.

Mom got a GREAT report from the neuro doc! God answered our prayers for a full recovery, just will take time (maybe a year). The doc said she may even get to drive again! :) She is having fever as well as intestinal problems though. Her polymycitis is acting up as well.

Big John has now lost a total of 40 pounds!!!! He was hospitalized 7 years ago for the worst kind of migraine. It took 4 days to get it broke. It hit again.......today (fir the first time since that). I gave him some meds and he is some better!

Little John is good other than regular allergies. Mason's coughing asmatha is acting up due to allergies.

A friend from high school had to take her 36 year old husband off of life support and he was buried Friday.

The boys planted their tomato plants. They each did 6 this year. John did grape tomatoes while Mason did romas.

I FINALLY am well enough to get rid of the antibiotics for the staph infection in my sinuses!
I am having bp problems though...it is way too low. The neuro doc took me off of most of the preventive I am on for migraines and now they are back! GRRRRR! So I'll be calling tomorror!
I am still managing two households and cooking Mom and Dad's meals. I guess I am doing okay....just really tired!

So that's where we are now! Blessings!