10 Songs - 30 Day Blog Challenge

Put your iPod on shuffle and write the first 10 songs that pop up.

I use Rhapsody on my phone, so that will have to do for this post.  I have a big play list with lots of different kinds of music on there and I almost always use the Shuffle feature.  I just never know what's going to sound good.  I also get stuck in what music I listen to, so I have my musician husband add new stuff that I might like to my playlist every now and then just so I have new stuff.  This part about me drives him crazy, btw.  :-)

So, here we go.

1. Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel
2. No One Mourns The Wicked by Stephen Schwartz
3. Cherry Pie by Warrant
4. Livin' On A Prayer by Bon Jovi
5. Defying Gravity by Stephen Schwartz
6. Galileo by Indigo Girls
7. Wide Open by Sugarland
8. Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns
9. Re: Your Brains by Jonathan Coulton
10. Freight Train by Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds

Here's my original post on the 30 Day Blog Challenge if you want to read what else I have to say.  I'd love for you to come along for the ride! :-)


Now, I don't know what all this says about me, but I would love to know what you think.  :-)

Current Relationship - 30 Day Blog Challenge

Your current relationship.

This seems kind of vague.  I know it's just semantics, but I have relationships with lots of people.  I know, I know, it's specifically meaning my significant other, but it really doesn't say that.  Ok, now that I got that out of the way.

My husband of almost 13 years is absolutely my favorite person in the whole wide world! (The other two are also my favorite people in the whole wide world!)

Rich and I met 17 years ago at Shoney's.  We both were working there.  What's interesting about our meeting was that I had no idea what to call him.  His dad, who was a manager there, called him Rick.  Some said his name was Richard.  But he introduced himself as Rich.  It turns out that his name has went through a metamorphosis over the years.  When he was little, he was called Ricky and as he got older, the family shortened that to Rick.  When he started school, he wanted to be called Richard, so high school friends still call him that.  Then in college, he decided to shorten that to Rich.  Hence, my husband will answer to many names.  :-)  It gets very interesting when I am talking to his mom...I can't bring myself to call him Rick.  So, if you are eavesdropping, the conversation might get a little hairy for you!  :-)

Here's my original post on the 30 Day Blog Challenge if you want to read what else I have to say.  I'd love for you to come along for the ride!  :-)

30 Day Blogging Challenge

I found this on another blog...imamomtoo.  I have since found a couple different versions of it, but this is the one that I am going to be doing.  (I may have to use some of the other ones at a later date.)


I am not going to just be doing these posts...I will still be putting up my Food Fridays and others as they come up. We have 3 birthdays this month, so I will be doing posts for them.  But I will fill in the other days with this, so I will finish this up sometime in December (hopefully).  


I am hoping that this will help me get into the habit of posting something on my blog every day.  So, come along with me and learn a little more about me and my family.  Would love to see some of you do this along with me! Let me know if you are going to participate and I will be sure to read along!  :-)

Current Relationship

Where would I like to be in 10 years

Top 5 Pet Peeves

Views on Religion

Favorite Comfort Foods & Why

Zodiac Sign and Does It Fit?

Favorite Childhood Toys

A moment you felt most satisfied in your life.

If you would have any job in the world what would it be?

Your guilty pleasures

Put your Ipod (in my case Rhapsody) on shuffle and write first 10 songs that pop up.

Bullet your whole day

Somewhere you would like to move/visit.

Earliest Memory

Write 15 interesting facts about yourself

Your views on mainstream music

Your highs and lows this last year

A book you could read over and over and never get sick of

Your biggest regret in life

How important you think education is

One of your favorite TV Shows

How have you changed the past 2 years

Post 3 pics of famous people you find attractive

Your favorite Movie

Someone who fascinates you and why

If you had $1,000,000 to spend how would you spend it?

A problem you have or have had in the past.

Something that you miss

List 10 people dead or alive you would invite to dinner , include the menu.

Goals for the next 30 days!

Booga Booga Land review

Based on the Parables of Jesus, join Marty the monkey and Gerard the giraffe as they bungle their way thru the paradise of Booga Booga Land inadvertently learning lessons that Jesus taught many years ago.

So This is Booga:  Marty and Gerard meet for the first time in the city of Booga Booga, becoming instant best friends. Early one morning they decide to become window washers for a day to earn 20 bamolies. But when they see the boss also give 20 bamolies the other works who arrived late in the day, Martya and Gerard want to know why. (Based on the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard from Matthew 20:1-16)
Marty’s Sandcastle Marty and Gerard decide to go to carpentry school, taught by the German instructor Mr. Guudsaw. After graduating, they each decide to build their own home. But one night a great storm destroys Marty’s flimsy house.  (Based on the Parable of the Wise and the Foolish Builders from Luke 06:47-49)
No Light In This Lighthouse:  Marty gets a bright idea to build a lighthouse, but ends up rushing the job when he sees that there are ships being lost while he works!  (Based on the Parable of the Lamp Under the Bowl from Matthew 5:14-16)

My children liked watching the cartoons, but I don't think the story was very well told.  It was certainly not emphasized enough so that the children really understood what the point truly was.  Even so, I had no problems with letting the kids watch this.  They were entertained and it led to more conversation as I explained a little better about the parables that each episode was based on.


I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

It's Monday again.

As I searched for a picture to go with my "It's Monday" post. I realized that I can be of two minds about Monday.  Here's a post from a great Monday...Meaning-Full Monday.  Today was not going to be a good Monday post.  Here's the picture that I was going to use...

This is exactly what I feel like today and the house issues haven't changed a bit.  My hurricanes, otherwise known as Nicholas and Wesley, were quite active this weekend.  Looking at the house today, you would never know that I had the house looking pretty darn good this last week.  

That's my big question for today...how do you deal with the housework never being finished?  I am always reminded of how the Nazi's used this sort of torture on the Jewish people.  Move a huge pile of dirt to this location...now, move it back.  There is NO PURPOSE!  That's enough to break anyone's spirit.  

I just have to remember that it's all in how I look at it.  Years down the road, I am going to be doing the same things...washing dishes and doing laundry.  It's never going to stop...I am never going to get finished with these tasks.  But I am serving my husband and my children and in doing so, I am serving my God.  THAT is a great feeling.  

So, how do you deal with the never ending cycle of housework?

Food Friday!

It's fall!  And there is nothing that seems to go with fall as much as homemade Apple Butter.

So, I went to the local farmer's market last week and picked up some delicious Rome apples!  I also snagged some apple cider too.  Tastes just like drinking an apple!  Wow!

I started thinking about what to do with these apples.  I thought about apple dumplings and homemade applesauce.  But then I thought of apple butter.  Perfect!  Here's the recipe.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

Approximately 5 lb. apples

1 1/4 cups honey

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cloves

Dash of salt

1 1/2 cup apple cider

1.  Fill Crock-pot 3/4 full with sliced apples. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until evenly mixed. 

2.  Cover and cook on low setting overnight or until the butter is of a thick, spreadable consistency.  Use an immersion blender or food processor to smooth it out if needed.

If apple butter has too much liquid, remove lid and cook on high until thickened. Stir often as butter thickens to prevent scorching.

Store in refrigerator for up to 6 weeks. Freeze for longer storage.

Variation:  Substitute 3 cups sugar for the honey for a sweeter butter.

For serious?  You need to try this recipe!  It will have your whole house smelling like fall.  And it's delicious too!  :-)

What's your favorite fall recipe?  Favorite crock pot recipe?

Food Friday

This week started getting a little colder, so I started thinking about cold weather foods and got a hankerin' (LOL) for vegetable soup.  I love the simplicity of a vegetable soup, but I am living in a house of boys and they simply have to have their meat.  So, they are not happy when I bust out my veggie soups.  I decided to make a bit of a compromise this time, as I am rather fond of them and do things just for them from time to time. (Was that a little over the top?)  This is another great thing about vegetable soup...it's so customizable!!  Add/take away the vegetables that you like/don't like and everyone is happy! Anyway, on to the recipe!

Vegetable Beef Soup/Stew

Ingredients:

2 lbs cubed beef stew meat

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup red wine

48 oz beef broth

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 (1 oz) package dry onion soup mix
1 (2 lb) bag frozen mixed vegetables
1 can diced tomatoes
3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 
Dash favorite hot sauce

Optional: 3 cups prepared rice

Directions:

1. Place meat in a large plastic bag. Combine 1/4 cup flour with salt and pepper; pour into the bag with the meat, and shake to coat.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add stew meat, and cook until evenly browned on the outside. Transfer to a slow cooker along with frozen vegetables, tomatoes, beef broth, onion soup mix, tomato paste, and potatoes.

3. Pour red wine into the skillet, and stir to loosen browned bits of food on the bottom. Remove from heat, and pour into the slow cooker.  Add rosemary, soy, Worcestershire, and hot sauces.  

4. Cover, and cook on High for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to Low, and cook for 6 hours, or until meat is fork tender.  I like thick stews as opposed to thinner soups, so I added rice as well and that sucked up most of the remaining juices. My husband would disagree with me on this matter though.  :-)