Crazy Christmas Lady

Let me just say that I have had veggie burgers in the past and wasn't really impressed so I was a little skeptical before making these burgers.  But I knew if Ms. Winifred made them they had to taste good.  She is an amazing cook and baker.

These veggie burgers did not disappoint.  They were so good!!!  I ate the first two while I was waiting for my sweet potato fries to cook in the oven.  Yeah you heard me....the oven.  And guess what?  Our compacitor went out on our AC unit.  It got up to 84 degrees in our home.  :)  Thank goodness we have a great relationship with our AC guy.  Nick and his dad were at our home 45 minutes after the hubs called him and this was at 7 p.m. in the evening.  They had our AC working within 25 minutes.  How sweet is that?   And of course I did what every Southern woman does, I offered them a glass of sweet iced tea.

We have a service contract with them to service our AC / Heating twice a year.  They call us to come by...we don't have to remember to call them.  Our heater is serviced before winter and our AC is checked for freon, leaky duct work, etc.  It's pretty sweet.

Last year they came by in September to check out the heating system to make sure it would fire up when we needed it.  Of course I had started decorating for Christmas early because of the weddings we were going to.  Nick's dad was pretty surprised but Nick wasn't.  He said his cousin had just posted pics of her Christmas decor on Facebook. Well the next day they go to Brooke and Brad's to service their heating system.  Nick's dad made a comment about going by a ladies' house the day before and she had already decorated for Christmas.  :)  Nick said dad, that's Brad's mother-in-law.  We still crack up over that!  So yesterday he was picking on me asking if I was about to bring my Christmas decor down from the attic.  I laughed and said not this year.  I think I will wait for October.  :)  I guess I could be known for worse things than the crazy Christmas lady, right?

Enough of that....here's the recipe for these delicious veggie burgers.

1 T. canola oil, divided

1/4 c. each minced onion, green bell pepper, carrot and celery

2/3 c. drained canned white kidney (Cannellini) beans

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/3 c. seasoned dried bread crumbs

In an 8 inch non stick skillet heat 1 tsp. of the oil.  Add onion, pepper, carrot, and celery; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and moisture has evaporated, about 1 minute.  Set aside to cool slightly.  Using a fork, in medium mixing  bowl mash beans and stir in egg.  Add bread crumbs and vegetable mixture; mix until thoroughly combined.  Shape mixture into 4 small equal patties.  Set patties on plate; cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 20 minutes.  In same skillet heat 1 tsp. of the remaining oil; add 2 patties and cook over medium heat, turning once, until browned on both sides and heated through.  Remove patties to plate and keep warm.  Repeat with remaining tsp. of oil and 2 patties.

And no, the hubs did not eat these.  He came home before I finished mixing it up and he said no way. He doesn't eat many vegetables so he had leftovers from the night before.  I ate the last two today for lunch.  They were so good.

I hope you are staying cool.

Take care,

Debbie

Hawaiian Pork Chops

I bet you are saying to yourself that's not Hawaiian Pork Chops.  If so, you're right!  It never dawned on me that I was going to be cooking these in the oven.  Yeah right!  Not in all this heat.  I quickly changed my mind and decided to grill them.  An added bonus was I was able to get in an extra 15 laps while waiting for it to be ready.  That's a win-win in my book.

We had brown rice, black-eye peas and deer sausage.  It was delicious!



Here is the recipe for what I mislead you to believe that I was going to be serving for dinner.  :)  It sounds delicious.

Hawaiian Pork Chops

6 3 oz. Boneless center-cut loin pork chops

1 8 1/2 oz. can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained

1 T. lemon juice

1 T. honey

1 T. low sodium soy sauce

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

vegetable cooking spray

Trim fat from chops.  Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium heat until hot.  Add pork, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until lightly browned.  Place pork chops in a shallow baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Combine pineapple and remaining 6 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well.  Spread pineapple mixture over pork.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until tender when tested with a fork.


The hub's mom bought him a Rock'em Sock'em Robots game and she wanted some pics of him and the grandkids playing.

One of my goals being home was to start making smoothies again for breakfast.  We like Lean Body in the vanilla and the chocolate flavors.  For this smoothie I used frozen pineapple that I had in the freezer.  It makes it so much faster if you freeze your portions ahead of time.  I use a full scoop for the hub's smoothie and 1/2 of a scoop for mine.  I add about 6 ounces of water and more ice to make a smoothie this size.

I am hoping to settle down into a routine so I will be more consistent with my posts.  I have been all over the board this week except when it comes to getting my laps in.  I am swimming first thing in the morning so I don't get distracted during the day.  :)

Hope you are having a great day!

Take care,

Debbie

Meal Planning Monday

Hello there!  I hope you are having a great day!!!

Today is the first day of my new journey.

I started my day having my coffee out on the patio.  It was so peaceful.

After that, I swam 50 laps and got in 200 crunches for my early morning workout.  Go me!!!

Here is our dinner menu for this week.  I made my selections from a cookbook I was gifted by a very good friend, Winifred.  The name of the cookbook is "Favorite Recipes by the Brentwood Baptist Church, Volume II".

Monday - Leftover pizza from swim party on Sunday

Tuesday - Hawaiian Pork Chops

Wednesday - Veggie Burgers

Thursday - Grilled Salmon

Friday - 15 Minute Meat Loaf "Muffins"

Don't they sound yummy?  These are all new recipes for me so I am looking forward to trying them out.  I will post photos of each dish as I prepare it and I will  also share the recipes with you.

Take care,

Debbie

Choosing a Paint Color for My Office

I shared with you here the ideas I have put together to change the look of my office.  It currently looks like this, or something similar.  I've since removed most all of the clutter and have put away my sewing machine since I have not been sewing.

My goal is to remove the French doors (I am waiting for the Hubs to get on board/sometimes it takes him a while) and have this wall filled in with sheet rock.  I want to make this a gallery wall with all of my favorite photos from our trips to Disney World.  I will use the black frames I currently have Disney prints in to display them.

I am seriously considering going with Lazy Gray by Sherwin Williams.  I will pick up a Color to Go Sample today to see how I like the color.





For now, I am going to paint these doors and the trim around the doors the same color as the walls.  I want to get a "feel" for how it will look once the doors are gone.  This room has eleven doors including the doors on the built ins.  That is way too many doors for a room this size.

I am so excited to see the transition in this room take place.  I will keep you posted on the other changes/enhancements I want to make to this room.

Hope you are having a great week!

Take care,

Debbie

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What I'm Reading

 Yes, that is a tall tower of books!  As you can see, I go a little crazy when I go to the library.  In this case, I went online requesting books that came highly recommended by Shay at Mix and Match Family.  Most of the books I requested were either on hold or already checked out.  Some of them even had several people listed before me.  No worries!  I was in no hurry.

I began receiving texts and emails from my local library (lots of texts and emails) that most all of the books I requested were available for pick up.  How crazy is that?  So needless to say I have been really busy reading!!!  Thank goodness for renewing books online.  It is so convenient!

The first book I read was Ooh La La!  French Women's Secrets to Feeling Beautiful Every Day by Jamie Cat Callan.  

 If you know me, you know that I LOVE to dress up for work every single day.  Even Fridays.  I guess you can say that I never outgrew the "dress up" stage.  :)  And I LOVE dresses!!!  I know, I am weird and a little off subject here.  Sorry about that!  Back to the book....

I discovered as I moved through the pages that I do quite a few of the things the French women do.  Does that make me French?  (After all, I am Cajun.)  Enough already!

This book was a very easy read.  I loved hearing the French Woman's point of view on just about everything.  It reconfirmed for me that the hubs and I are definitely going to Europe.  It's on my bucket list!

One of the things I discovered was that French women wear a lot of scarves.  So after I finished the book I began wearing my scarves.  Well, only two of them matched my dresses.  I need to get a few more.  Nelly commented on my beautiful look and I told her I was embracing my French side.  She laughed at me!!!  Can you believe that?  Just kidding!  She knows I am a little weird.

The most important message I got was that French women do not subscribe to using Botox, fad diets, etc.  They recommend that us women from the U.S. should "say hello to the truly timeless beauty that comes with making the most of your own unique je-ne-sais-quoi".

The next book I read was the The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand.  It was a very easy read.  In fact, I didn't want to put it down.  I blew right through it.

I just finished Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand.  I have to admit it wasn't my favorite.  It took me a little longer to move through it.  But don't let me discourage you from reading it.

I just picked up The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty.  I'll be sure to let you know what I think about it when I finish it.

I imagine some of you are wondering why I am not using my Nook or my iPad.  Well, for starters I don't dare bring my iPad out or it could end up like my Nook.  I really wanted hard books I could take by the pool to read.  I didn't want to have to worry about whether or not I had any charge left as I was walking out the door to the pool.  Know what I mean?  Just simple, old fashioned reading!

Talking about all this reading has me ready to go home and do some of that reading now.  Good thing my boss is leaving for a haircut at 1 p.m.  I'll be right behind him.  After all, he said if he can't see me he doesn't know about it!  Pretty cool!

I'd love to hear from you what books you are reading.

I hope you are enjoying the summer where ever you are.

Take care and God Bless,

Debbie

Life Lately

Hello there!  I hope you had a good couple of weekends.
I kind of fell off of the blogging wagon there for a week!  It all started with me being off from work last Monday and Tuesday and it went downhill from there.

I made the nachos and chili con queso but we never got around to making the Fresh Pineapple Margaritas that I talked about here.  We were lazy in the pool, drank beer and had a very late dinner on the patio.  It was all very relaxing.

Nelly and Miss J came over on Tuesday morning to swim with the girls and Mr. W.

Miss A came in for her closeup.

 Sweet P and Miss J had a fun time diving for rings.

And swimming would not be complete without Mickey Mouse popsicles.

Mr. W wearing mom's sunglasses.  He is such a ham! 

At the rate he is going, he will know how to swim by the end of the summer.

We look forward to getting together with Nelly and Miss J for many more swims!

Hope you have a great day!

Take care,

Debbie

Happy Friday My Friends!!!

Happy Friday!!!  I am sending out hugs to all of you.  I hope you spend your weekend doing the things that recharge your batteries.

I am SO EXCITED to say that we have no plans for the weekend!  Woo Hoo!  We have had something going on every weekend for the last three weekends.  This one belongs to us.

I plan on using this bad boy to make some fun drinks.

I am thinking of making this Fresh Pineapple Margarita from Crunchy Creamy Sweet.  Only I think I'll make mine with rum instead of the tequila.  Doesn't that look delicious?  Yumm!!!

I have been craving Tex Mex food so we are either going to cook it ourselves or make a run to Gringo's Tex Mex.  Their food is delicious!!!  If you are ever in the area and are looking for some good Tex Mex I highly suggest going there....but be prepared to wait.  There is always a line of people waiting to get in.  But it is so worth it!

And it wouldn't be complete without a movie night.  Poolside, that is.  :)  I think this is one of my most favorite things to do on the weekend.

Do you have any special plans for the weekend?

Take care and have a great weekend!!!

Debbie

Office Makeover for the Hub's Office

 

 With things coming to a close soon at work, I packed up my decor and brought it home.  We really didn't have any place to hang it at home so it was all in the catch all room game room.  I guess the hubs realized he had a perfect opportunity to decorate his office with my stuff.  Just kidding!  He said he will give it all back once I have a new office.  I told him he could keep everything except for the clock!

I had never been to his office so I had him take photos of his office so I could come up with a plan.  The first thing I told him was he really needed curtains to soften the hard edges of the window.  I also told him that if we did not address the window the decor on the walls would not stand out....as the window was a huge distraction.  I referenced it as the black hole.

He agreed once I told him I had four panels he could have.  You know the ones that had not been hung in the family room or around the French doors outside.

The cost of his office makeover was $25.00 for the two curtain rods he purchased at Ross.

I tried so hard to find a place in our home for this clock.  I absolutely love it!  This photo does not give you a true feeling of how big it is.  It is very big.

I was sitting in his chair admiring our work and I got a little emotional seeing my office decor on his walls.  It made the ending of my job so much more final.  He told me I can have it all back when I find my next job.  I laughed and said the only thing I definitely want back is the clock!

We are both really pleased with the way it turned out.

Take care,

Debbie

Our 4th of July Celebration

We chose to celebrate the 4th of July on Friday as the weather forecast was calling for rain on Saturday.  Guess what?  It rained on Friday for a short time, too.  :)  After the rain, the water in the pool was rather chilly.  It's crazy that the temperature of the water is chilly in July.  CRAZY!!!  We had a small group this year....just our immediate family without Uncle Brad, as he was working.

We kept the menu really easy and quite simple.  We had hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, potato salad, s'mores, watermelon, strawberries and Mickey Mouse pops.  I mean what's a swim party without Mickey Mouse pops?

I kept the decor pretty simple by using print outs from generous and talented bloggers.

The Disney printables are from My Disney Life by Melissa.

Looking out from the inside

I love a red, white and blue tablescape.

Here's the goody station...cotton candy, a variety of glow in the dark sticks, animal crackers, and rice krispie treats.

I reused last year's banner that I printed from At Second Street.  All of the goodies came from Dollar Tree.

  

   

We played several games of a 4th of July bingo before we ate dinner.  I printed off the cards from Blooming Homestead.  We had so much fun!  Can you tell how excited she was to win?

He is such a ham.

There was a lot of splashing around to see who could make the biggest splash, races to see who could swim the fastest and contests to see who could hold their breath the longest.  Oh, and we can't forget Marco Polo.

Mr. W jumped into the pool on the deep end for his first time.

This little guy never forgets to ask for "Mickey".

He put on these goggles....

and started making faces....

once he saw he had an audience he really turned it on.  Such a ham!

Getting ready to watch Toy Story 3.

The girls were swimming with their glow in the dark glow sticks. 

 

 

Time for s'mores!

The girls stayed the night and we watched The Croods after everyone left.

The moon was full and bright.  I tried to capture the clouds in front of it.

Here's a pic of the morning after.  Paw Paw surprised us all by cooking bacon, eggs, and cinnamon rolls all while we were still sleeping.

I got a pic of the girls just before we brought them home on Saturday afternoon.

 We had a really nice 4th of July.  I hope you and your family had a good time, too!

Take care,

Debbie