baseball cards

Yesterday Michael and I worked on sorting his baseball cards. We spent a long time sorting them by year. He has cards ranging from 1980 - 2009. We sorted them all into stacks and then Doug bought an organizer box. Doug then started typing some into the Beckett website to see if they were valuable cards. He found out that he has a few that are worth $15 - ones with a piece of a jersey in the card. One rookie of a Japanese player (don't remember who it was) was worth $30. Many were worth $1.50 - $2.00. It is amazing how many he has - and it will only keep growing. I think the organizer box he has will hold 4000 cards. I know we will just keep having to buy them - as his interest in card collecting is not over. :)

yummy

I decided to try something different with pork chops for dinner. I made an apple pork chop dish. I sauted 1/2 an onion and 2 apples in some butter with cinammon and brown sugar. Then I browned the pork chops. I put 1/2 the apple mixture in the bottom of a pan and then put the pork chops in the pan. I then topped it with the rest of the apple mixture. Finally - I poured applesauce over the whole thing. I then cooked it today 30 minutes at 400. I looked at 2 recipes from allrecipes.com and came up with this after looking at the recipes and suggestions. It was good - but next time I will leave out the onion. I thought it would add flavor, but it added an odd flavor to the apple. Good, but just a little different.

Michael really liked it as did I. It was also pretty easy. So - those of you who have a freezer full of pork (like we do) give this a try. No odd ingredients involved.

back to school

I have had some crazy weeks here. First the wind storm. Then last week, Emily was sick and running a feaver, so I was not at school on Thursday or Friday. Then, today was a holiday. So - I have a 4 day week, after being at school 3 days last week. OF course, I would have rather been at school last week instead of monitoring a feaver, cleaning up throw up, and watching a sick child. The worst was that Emily was unable to attend our annual butchering weekend on the farm. She and I stayed home. That also meant that Doug came back quicker than usual - so Michael was bummed as he had to leave the farm early.

Hopefully Emily will make it tomorrow. She was up today from 7:30 - 9:00 and then went back to bed until 11:30. She was up until 12:15 and then slept until 3:30 or so. Then she was up for about 30 minutes and went back to bed until about 5:15. Then, after dinner she went back to bed and got up around 7:30. She is back in bed now at 9:00. Wow! She was only up a few hours all day - not typical of her at all. She was not running a feaver. Just congested and a cough. Pray for health and healing!

My friend Jackie had the topic of : Sunday Seven - Restaurants on her blog.
Today's Sunday Seven is about restaurants. Name your favorite 7 places to eat in your hometown area. These can be chains, local eateries, whatever. Then leave a comment at the end of the post with your answers or a link to your blog with the answers! Feel free to share on your blog too - and pass it on. It can be a fun way to share more information about one another.

1. Macaroini Grill - I love putting chicken, brocoli, and sun dried tomatoes with whole wheat pasta. Designing my own meal using the you pick menu is one thing I love about Macaroini Grill.

2. Fiesta Mexicana - a local mexican place. It is pretty authentic, as you have to read the descriptions to really know what you are eating. I love their chimichanga (not sure how to spell it) and I have tried other items (but don't remember what their names are - I need the descriptions). The prices are inexpensive also - and they give you a discout card for 20% off if you a frequent visitor.

3. Rocky's - a local italian place. I will get their dish with tomatoes, sausage, mushrooms, ham, noodles, and cream sauce (carbonara bologanese or something like that). Doug likes their calzones. Their prices are not too bad, and it is right on the river. Eating outside on their porch area is great when the weather is nice. Otherwise, getting a river view by the wall of windows is almost as nice. When the weather is warm, we will park in Louisville and walk across the bridge to Indiana (there is a car/pedestrian bridge across the Ohio River). It makes for a very novel night.

4. White Castle- I love their burgers. Nobody else in my family enjoys eating there - too many onions the kids say - so I don't get to savor their burgers too much.

5. Don Paublos - I enjoy thier mexican food. The one here in Louisville closed, but they do have one just over the river in INdiana. We discovered them one day when we went to the Bass Pro shop, so we ate there. But, we have not been back, as it is kind of far away. So - maybe for something special. Their margaritas were awesome also!

6. Applebees - I enjoy thier ceasar salad - with or without chicken. They also have/had (have not been there in a while) a salad with blue cheese, walnuts, cranberries & mandarin oranges that was delicious.

7. Asian Buffet - there is a little Asian restraunt that has a buffet line. They have some good choices - beef and brocoli, shrimp & vegetables, but at dinner they also have crab legs, shrimp, and other dishes served with crab. Michael loves to go there because he loves crab legs. He thinks crab legs are asian food. He will tell people he loves chinese food - but he will only eat fruit, crab legs, and shrimp. Kind of funny.

Post your favorite restraunts & play along

wind

It seems like Louisville is enjoying any kind of weather possible this school year. Tonight we are having another wind storm. The wind is 40 - 60 mph. I just ran to the grocery store and when I got to the parking lot - two bags almost blew out of the cart. Then all of a sudden I heard a terrible noise. I turned around to see the cart carral moving across the parking lot. I was parked about 2 or 3 spaces down the aisle so it did not come too close, but it was a scary sight. It was moving, along with the 10 or 12 carts that were in the carral. Odd. I am glad I am back home - just hope we don't loose power. The lights have flickered some - but never went off for more than a millisecond. They are saying lots of people are loosing power due to broken limbs that have not been cleaned up from the ice storm.

school color wreath

Here is the wreath that I put together as my class project for the school auction. Each student drew a star on a ball - either silver or maroon. Then I put it together. A mom who is very crafty and sells bows is going to make the bow for the wreath. I am very happy with how it turned out. Thanks again Jamie for letting me use your idea. :)

fixing the faucet

Michael helped Doug fix our leaky faucet in the bathroom. It was part of his cub scout book - so it killed two birds with one stone. Here is a picture of Michael turning the last screw. He was so pround. He kept wanting to use his tools - but got over that when he realized he was using Daddy's special tools.

casting contest

Emily participated in the Kentucky State Kids' Casting Contest today. She went to school last night to practice all three things she would do - one at 10 feet, one at 20 feet, and one at 30 feet. She competed at 2:00 today, and was in the 2nd round of competitors. She scored 40 points (each time there were 50 possible, so 150 was the most she could get). She was disappointed that she did not do better, as last night she had gotten pretty good at hitting the "target" she was aiming at. It was something she can now say that she did that nobody else she knows has done. That is kind of her thing - doing things that nobody else does. She likes the novelty of it.

Name your seven favorite scents. These can be related to food, nature, perfume, anything really. Maybe they have a good memory associated with them, or remind you of a special person. Whatever they are, leave a comment on this blog with a link to your own blog listing your answers. If you don't have a blog and want to play, leave a comment on this blog with your answers! The more people play, the more fun it is! :)

Here's my list:

1. Roses - they smell yummy and pretty at the same time. They make me think many romantic memories.

2. Fresh-baked bread ~ just smells like heaven! I love making it in my bread maker over night and smelling it as I sleep. Sometimes I want to get up and eat a midnight snack - bust most of the times sleep wins over :)

3. Vanilla - especially Brown Sugar Vanilla from Bath and Body works

4. Chocolate chip cookies baking - mmmm good!

5. My husband's aftershave in the morning before he leaves for work.

6. Bonfires ~ the smell of a campfire when we are out camping is irreplacable.

7. Fresh berries - in a pie, in cookies, or in shampoos and body wash. I love the smell of strawberries, rasberries - any kind of berries.

Post your favorite scents and let me know what they are ...

Michael

If you have ever been to our house, you know that the kids' rooms are usually a disaster zone. Well, tonight we have Christ Care and the kids are coming over here while the adults are another place. Due to the craziness of last weekend, we have not had the opportunity to clean the kids rooms. Last night Michael told Doug that his room was not messy - "It is a creation of toys". Funny! He is always good for a laugh.

cold

It is now very cold again. It is supposed to get down to 6 degrees tonight. Wow! Who would have thought that it would be so cold in Kentucky. This morning it was 11 degrees. So much for melting the snow that is still outside. Although, they say it is going to be 50 degrees on Saturday.

wreath

I first want to Thank cousin Jamie for saying I could use her wreath idea for our school auction. I made a sample first so I would know what I was doing, before I started putting together the balls that my kids decorated. I have school color balls (maroon and silver) that they are going to paint pen with stars. Then I will put them together into a wreath.

I had some old balls that I did not use on our Christmas tree - so I first used those, and then ran out, so I figured I at least figured out how to do it before I did the one for the auction. Well, a parent picked up their kids and saw my partially filled wreath, and asked about it. When I said I ran out of balls that size, they said that Garden Ridge had balls 90% off. Well - that was an answer to prayer. They not only had 90% off, but had balls the same size :) So, I was able to finish my sample wreath :) I had to change my color scheme, but had the same sized balls. I decided to do a little camaflage with ribbon, since I had an odd color combination on the wreath. Here is what my wreath turned out like. I decided to give this one to the school auction also. I am also planning on going back to Garden Ridge to get some more balls to make one for myself. Let me know what you think :)

puzzle

The kid shave been working on this puzzle since we came back at Christmas. We got this puzzle for Micahel - he was so excited to have it. We completed it now over our ice days with the help of our friends.

Sunday Seven

My friend Jackie has started posting a top 7 list each Sunday. She then asks others who blog to do the same - so they can compare. So - here it goes.

Time for the Sunday Seven! Today's topic: Name 7 foods that are worth wrecking your diet for every once in a while. Or, if you don't diet, worth all the extra calories and fat.

1. Oreo Cheese cake - I have an awesome recipe that I do not make very much, as it is very tasty, but very rich. I try to make it healthier by using fat free cream cheese, but it is much better with regular, fat rich cream cheese.

2. pizza - especially bacon, chicken, ranch pizza from Wick's pizza. It is so yummy!!!!

3. grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches - especially with lots of peanut butter. Sounds crazy - but if you have never tried it, you make them just like a grilled cheese, instead of putting cheese in the middle you put peanut butter and jelly.

4. Pumpkin pie ice cream - it tastes just like pumpkin pie, complete with little bits of crust. Another seasonal favorite is eggnog ice cream. That also tastes just like eggnog.

5. Pumpkin torte - my favorite pumpkin dessert to make at thanksgiving and Christmas. My mom made this all the time when I was young, and I make it also for my family.

6. Derby Pie - a favorite in Louisville. It is a pecan pie that has bourbon in it and other things. It is very rich, so you don't need very much to feel like you have eaten a million bucks.

7. Loaded nachos (or any nachos for that reason). I love nachos - the more toppings the better. Load it up with sour cream, tomatoes, black olives, onions, cheese, beef, salsa, MMMMMMM good!!!

Placeyour top 7 things on your blog, and comment here if you participate so we can share favorite foods.

update

Well, yesterday the ice began to melt. Some melted on Friday, but it really began to drop and drop yesterday. Icesicles fell as you drove around town - and hit your car as they fell off trees that were overhanging the road. I looked in the backyard this morning and our trees are beginning to rebound. The japanese Maple is no longer touching the ground - it is now pointing to the sky again :) We are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.

Our friends are still with us. There were repair workers in their neighborhood last night - but they checked last night and again this morning and no power. There were also no workers there this morning. Hopefully they were just changing shifts and will be back over there soon to work.

Today hopefully we will have lots of melting - and no flooding. I shoveled off our storm drain so it would go down the drain correctly. Hopefully others have done the same.

The beauty of ice

more snow/ice day fun

A fellow teacher and his family have been at our house for the past 24 hours, as they do not have power. They have two boys - age 4 & 2 who have been having fun with Emily and Michael . Ben and Michale have enjoyed playing the wii. All the kids really settled down last night fairly well - but Sam was up early. There are power outages all over town due to downed power lines. Thus, they are saying 7 - 10 days for all power to be restored. Hopefully it will be on soon for their sake. We don't mind them staying here -but it will be taxing on the boys being out of routine.

Ben went outside with Emily and Michael yesterday to play in the snow.

ice and snow

This is the ice on our tulip tree in the back yard. Wow! We are getting snow today on top of what we got yesterday - snow then ice. Yikes! it looks pretty on the trees, but not good for them.

Here is one of our Japanese Maples in the back yard. I was thinking the branches were broken - wrong - they are just hanging down to the ground. Hopefully it will bounce back up after the ice melts.

We lost a large limb on our dogwood tree that is full of ivy. It is right next to our house - so we heard it crack, crack, crack during the night. At least it is on this side of the house - the other side is where the power enters the house.

Ice on the house and on the power lines

Last night we heard crack, crack, crack all night long. Branches were falling all over our neighborhood. When I woke up and looked across the street I felt we were very fortunate. Across the street there were many tree branches down. Luckily none fell on the power lines :)

Of course we don't have school today. Will see what the rest of the week brings, as it is not supposed to get above freezing until the weekend.

doll clothes

These are the doll clothes that I have made for our school auction. I also made a pair of pants in the same blue pattern that i made the jumper. A light blue shirt goes with them. Thus, I am donating a whole mix and match wardrobe for an American Girl sized doll.

Emily made a pair of pants, shirt, and jumper - along with a purse for the school auction. The theme of the auction is the 1970's so she chose that theme for her outfit color scheme. Dont' know why the computer switched the picture - it was not this direction when I uploaded it. Just turn your head to look.

Snow Day Fun!!!!

Wooooaaaahhh! Hang on next time Emily! I love the look on her face. :)
Whee!!!

You can tell we live in a place that does not get snow more than once or twice a year. The kids think shoveling is fun :) Since we only had two shovels, for a while I was surpervising.

Making snow angels - or at least trying to. There was enough ice on the top of the snow that it did not work well.