Thousand Word Thursday - Muffin Thief

I wander on to the scene after a minute or two of complete silence.

I know something is up.

It's not my first day.

The furniture is moved around.

The remnant of a muffin lays wounded next to it's intact brothers.

The thief confesses.

All for the love of a muffin.


Cheaper Than Therapy holds A Thousand Word Thursday each week. Go visit to check out other pictures!

Wordless Wednesday - Sister Time

Check out more Wordless/Wordful Wednesday pictures at

5 Minutes of Mom, Sunny Day Today Mama, Parenting By Dummies, Experimental Mommy, Mrs. Cox's Slice o' Heaven& Mom Knows It All.

Aloha Friday - Photography

"In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response."So head over to her site, An Island Life and answer her question but while you are here you might as well answer mine:

"How did you get better at photography? A class, tutorials, or Better? I still can't take pictures!?"

I would love to improve my pictures for my blog but am so overwhelmed with all that photography has to offer. I don't have photoshop. I use Picasa to crop my pictures but that's about it. There aren't many options. Help!

Last day to enter my Walmart Gift Card giveaway!

Kid Friendly Friday - Kids in the Kitchen - Nieman Marcus Cookies

I'm sure you have heard the Urban Myth about these cookies but have you tried them? They are really good. I've seen other versions that have espresso powder in them but I prefer my children less caffeinated. They are very tasty and easy for the kids to make. They love rolling the dough into balls!

NIEMAN-MARCUS COOKIES
2 c. butter

2 c. sugar

2 c. brown sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

4 c. flour

5 c. oatmeal, blended in blender to a fine powder

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. soda

24 oz. chocolate chips

1 (8 oz.) bar Hershey, grated

3 c. chopped pecans

Cream butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Stir in chips, Hershey bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Go over to Confessions of a non-domestic Housewife for more Kid Friendly Friday ideas!
Makes 9 dozen cookies.

Check out more recipes at Dining With Debbie!

Enter my giveaway for Three $5 Walmart gift cards HERE!

Works for Me - Freezing Casseroles - Mexican Lasagna

First off, I need to let you in on a casserole that is OUTSTANDING, easy, freezes nicely and makes a second with no extra effort. I am linking this post to a lot of recipe swaps, so seriously, check out the recipe! It is Pastor Ryan's Mexican Lasagna from The Pioneer Woman and HALF of the recipe makes TWO 9x13 casseroles. Enough for dinner (and leftovers) and a freezer meal. Which brings me to what works for me.....freezing casseroles in a 9x13 without the pan.

Line the pan with tin foil.

Fill with casserole (this is the Mexican Lasagna) one for tonight...one for later.

Put foil over the top and put in the freezer over night. Is the morning, take it out of the pan, wrap it again in freezer wrap and more foil and store in the freezer.
When you take it out to use it, unwrap it (you can leave the original layer of tin foil on if you want easy clean up but poor presentation), put it back into the pan, thaw and cook. Easy!

Check out We Are THAT Family for more Works For Me Wednesday ideas.


This post has also been linked to:
Mouthwatering Monday at Southern Fairytale
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace
Delicious Dish at It's a Blog Party

Tasty Tuesday at Beauty and Bedlam
Tuesday at the Table at All the Small Stuff
Dish It at Frugal Femina
Tuesday Tastes at Crazy Daisy
Hon, What's for Dinner Wednesday
What's on The Menu Wednesday at Dining With Debbie
Recipe Swap at Prairie Story (Thursdays)

Enter my giveaway for Three $5 Walmart gift cards HERE!

Thai Kitchen House Party!

Have you heard of House Party? They describe themselves as "You host. Everyone wins. House Party lets you share the stuff you like with the people you like, through a fantastic, free party experience. What's the catch? There is none: Our partners understand that if they share something good with the right people in a fun way, we'll all help spread the word. "

I've been lucky enough to have hosted several House Parties with lots of great stuff! This time it's Thai Kitchen products. Yum! I'm having girlfriends over for a ladies night IN with lots of Thai food.

Stinging Nettle; Appropriately Named

I had my first encounter with Stinging Nettle today and, wow, is it a nasty little weed. The weed presents itself as a humble little thing, easy to pull out of my potted basil. Then two seconds later I have a pounding headache, a throbbing and swollen finger, and me running inside to my husband to see if I'm going to lose my finger. It seriously took a few seconds for the little plant to render my finger unbendable and hard as a rock.

Now I sit here pecking at the keyboard with my good hand (my other hand wrapped around a Dora the Explorer ice pack) looking for the culprit so I will never let it touch me again. And here it is. Look at the spikes on that thing (yeah, I know it's magnified at least 87,000 times, but still)! Beware! There is a force out there trying to get me to stop pulling weeds. Then I look at the picture I took of my finger - LOL. Maybe if I magnified it 87,000 times it would look as bad as it feels :)

Cheeseburger Cake

Check out the cheeseburger cake I made today HERE!

Aloha Friday - Apples!

"In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response."So head over to her site, An Island Life and answer her question but while you are here you might as well answer mine:

"What is your favorite APPLE recipe?"

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE apple crisp and made a gingerbread apple crisp last fall that I cannot wait to make again. Between apple and pumpkin, I could find a new recipe to try every day!

Enter my giveaway for Three $5 Walmart gift cards HERE!

Kid Friendly Friday - Fall Leaves

I have a miniature clothes line hanging from my windows in the back of the house. Each season we try to come up with something crafty to hang there. This fall we have decided on leaves. Here Little Bit paints herself, the easel, and the paper used to make the leaves.


Bigs draws leaves and cuts them out. Little Bit learns to use scissors! What fun - look out hair (her's and everyone else's - she's a force to be reckoned with).

Here they are on their line. It sure isn't fall where we live but these make it a *little* like it.

Our clothesline ideas from seasons past are HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Go over to Confessions of a non-domestic Housewife for more Kid Friendly Friday ideas!

Enter my giveaway for Three $5 Walmart gift cards HERE!

Frog Cake

Go see my newest cake. Bigs has a teacher that is into frogs :)




Enter my giveaway for Three $5 Walmart gift cards HERE!

Wordless Wednesday - Far Away Place Logo

The Ukraine mission trip I went on this summer left a huge impression on many of us but none more than my friends Michelle and Hannah, that were led to start the organization Far Away Place. Their goal is to move to Ukraine (as soon as next summer!) to start a half-way type house for orphans that age out of the system. It just so happened that we were placed in the groups of kids that are almost at that point. It's hard to imagine a 16 year old, with little to no life skills, be put out to fend for themselves in the world. Here is their mission statement.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

They're called children with no prospects,
not trainable, not treatable!

Far Away Place – Project Ukraine, is a transitional home which helps teen-orphans through health care programs; food and nutritional aid; educational opportunities; life skills training and mentoring; and teen-orphan advocacy.

WHAT WE DO
We minister to teenagers who will age out of the Ukrainian orphanages by providing a stable-loving home. While living in our home, they will be taught life skills on topics such as identity, social Skills, health and hygiene, love, sex and marriage, time and money management and about the love Jesus Christ has for them. We desire to help them become better equipped to handle everyday life activities while also dealing with the everyday pressures of life. At Far Away Place we bring hope and education to the older orphans.

Check out more Wordless/Wordful Wednesday pictures at5 Minutes of Mom, Sunny Day Today Mama, Seven Clown Circus, Experimental Mommy, Mrs. Cox's Slice o' Heaven& Mom Knows It All.

The Media Should Step Up

I know you have all heard of the church in Gainesville, FL who is planning a Quran burning bonfire this Saturday. It really saddens me. The name of the church is Dove World Outreach Center. Maybe they need to reconsider that. Sometimes it's hard to be a Christian, when others who call themselves Christians get it so wrong.

It looks like the church has no intention of calling it off. So why can't the media step in and NOT COVER IT? What good does coverage do? Ignite more hatred. Unfortunately, it's all about the money. A good story is sure to "sell", even if it causes nothing but animosity, or even human lives, if General Petraeus is right.

Would it do any good for the media NOT to cover it? What do you think?

Tempt My Tummy - Easy Shrimp Scampi

I'm linking this to 12 Days of Bloggie-mas at A Moderate Life!

This is a very simple meal that even my kids enjoy. It takes about 15 minutes to throw together and I bet you have almost all of the ingredients on hand already.


Easy Shrimp Scampi
I've adapted this recipe from one at Penzey's.
If you want to make it more special, add the bacon :)



1 lb. uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined (or the frozen cooked kind, run under water until thawed, tails removed)
3 TB. olive oil (can sub a little bacon grease if you are using bacon)
3 TB. butter
1/4 Cup chicken stock
1 1/2 tsp. BASIL
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground BLACK PEPPER
1 shallot, diced or 1 tsp. onion powder
3 garlic cloves, diced or 3 tsp. minced garlic
12-16 oz. cooked spaghetti (use whole grain!)
1/4 Cup chopped fresh parsley (I always forget this even though I have a TON of fresh parsley, maybe that's why I have a ton)
1/2 cup cooked, crumbled bacon (optional but oh, so good)
Parmesan cheese
red pepper flakes

In a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the butter (the oil will keep the butter from burning). Once the butter has melted, add the stock. Allow the sauce to come to a slight boil. Then, sprinkle in the BASIL, salt, PEPPER, SHALLOTS and GARLIC (add some red pepper flakes at this point if everyone will eat them). Toss the ingredients to mix well.


Add the shrimp and bacon. They will cook quickly, about 2-3 minutes on each side (if your shrimp are already cooked, just warm them). Once the shrimp have cooked, turn off the heat and place your cooked pasta into the pan with the shrimp. Sprinkle in the parsley. Toss everything together, divide between 4 plates, top with Parmesan cheese (and red pepper flakes if you are the only one wanting a little spice) and serve.

Go check out other Tempt My Tummy recipes at Blessed With Grace!

This post has also been linked to:
Mouthwatering Monday at Southern Fairytale
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace
Delicious Dish at It's a Blog Party
Tasty Tuesday at Beauty and Bedlam
Tuesday at the Table at All the Small Stuff
Dish It at Frugal Femina
Tuesday Tastes at Crazy Daisy
Hon, What's for Dinner Wednesday
What's on The Menu Wednesday at Dining With Debbie
Recipe Swap at Prairie Story (Thursdays)

Hot chocolate for a hot day....

I rarely buy anything out of the ordinary just because I have coupons for them but this was one of those times. They were BOGO for 3.69 and there were $1.50 off of ONE coupons in the paper. With two coupons, they each cost 34 cents! I think it will be worth it :)

All the Small Things - Works for Me!

What is this? It's my sanity.

My three girls strew things from one end of the house to another. I can't stand random things laying around so I started the catch all basket. Whenever I trip over something that is lying around I throw it in the basket. When the basket gets full, I let everyone know they should find what is theirs and put it away. Whatever is left gets tossed.

This doesn't replace cleaning up after themselves. That gets done whenever they take things out to play. This does replace me constantly running around putting random things away when I'm on my way to do something else. I thought the site of the basket would get to me but it's actually pretty calming. It's nice just to be able to throw something in the basket and call it a day!

Check out We Are THAT Family for more Works For Me Wednesday ideas.

Wordless Wednesday - St. Andrew's Ukraine

Check out more Wordless/Wordful Wednesday pictures at5 Minutes of Mom, Sunny Day Today Mama, Seven Clown Circus, Experimental Mommy, Mrs. Cox's Slice o' Heaven& Mom Knows It All.