Never forget...

all those that lost their lives and their friends and loved ones on this day eight years ago.

Giveaway

Do you love totes/purses as much as I do? If so, head on over to Crafty Mama Creations and check out the one she's giving away on Sunday. And if you don't want to enter? Then check out her etsy site for bags she has for sale. Beautiful!

September Monthly Menu

OK, so for the past (almost) 9 years, I have done monthly menu planning. I type out a months worth of suppers and do my grocery shopping from that menu. I used to do it on a bi-weekly basis, based on hubby's paydays, but during the hot summer months, I hated having to go out even that often. So since the beginning of summer I've stretched out my grocery trips to once a month. Then I found Mommy's Kitchen and she posts her monthly menus on her blog. GENIUS!

Here is my September menu with linked recipes.

1. Beer brats, easy baked beans
2. Burgers, pea salad
3. smothered pork chops, oven roasted asparagus
4. crock pot pork butt, steamed broccoli
5. crock pot pintos and leftover butt, cornbread
6. pizza night
7. bacon cheeseburger meatloaf, mashed taters
8. steaks, mashed sweet taters
9. southwest chicken tacos
10. meatball stuffed shells, garlic bread
11. easy pot roast (I also add 1 envelope onion soup mix to this recipe), corn on the cob
12. garlic chicken, oven roasted asparagus (see above)
13. muffuletta and chips
14. pizza night

OK, I should mention that instead of having 30 different meals, I instead have 14, that I schedule this way: meals 1-7 week 1; meals 8-14 week 2; meals 1-7 week 3; meals 8-14 week 4. I should also mention that every Friday night is Pizza night. Sometimes that is homemade pizza, sometimes frozen store bought and sometimes take-out...depending on my mood and schedule. Now, I realize that not every family wants to eat the same thing twice a month, but it works for my family, so please adjust to fit your crowd.

Bon appetit!

Giveaway

If you are a super crafty person and love organization...or even if you're not crafty and need to get organized, head on over to Twiddletails blog for a giveaway in honor of her "500th Post Week".

Good luck...but I'm gonna win!

Yum

I am so going to try these. Simple ingredients + easy instuctions = YUM (hopefully!)

ARGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

I am pulling my hair out right now! Day before yesterday, I filled out a refinance application online for our house. We found that we could drop our interest rate from 7.25% to 4.8% and drop it from a 30 year note to a 15 year. Horray! Well, I got the call a few minutes after I hit the Submit button that we were approved for the refinance. Horray! Then at the end of the conversation, our processing person told me that they would be doing an appraisal, I thought "ok, no problem", then he told me that someone would have to be home because the would also be doing an INTERIOR appraisal as well...wait, what??? I've never heard of in interior appraisal, but I said "sure". The guy told me that someone would be getting in touch with us in 5-7 days to schedule that appraisal.

Fast forward to last night. About 28 hours after we were approved, the appraiser called and said that he would be in our area the NEXT DAY!!!!! Oh, and by the way, they would also be taking interior photos!!! Lovely! I had planned on an evening watching Monsterquest and all of a sudden I've got to clean the entire house and make it presentable....interior & exterior. Hubs and I got up this morning at 7am and have been working ever since. Yard mowed and trimmed...check...beds made...check...floors vacuumed and mopped...check. Now I have a splitting headache and we're waiting for the guy to get here.

Please Lord let it appraise for what the county appraised it at for taxes!!!! I'll keep you posted.

No excuses

The only reason I've not posted anything since February is, well, laziness. No other excuse, but I am turning over a new leaf and I promise to be more diligent, whether I have pics to post or not.

Stay tuned! Fair season is right around the corner and Madison has asked me to help her with some blueberry jam to enter this year. I'm also entering one of my baby quilts. Be back soon...I promise!