Our "other" kids......

Meet Sally and Otis.

Sally and Otis lost their mother... :(

We are now Sally's and Otis' mother.

 3 times a day, we get to "bond" with

Sally and Otis.

They don't care what we look like, they

are too busy searching for an udder....

I know my knees are fat, but I refuse

to think they remotely resemble

and UDDER!!

Mission accomplished.....

It was too hard for me to feed them AND take a picture

of them nursing the bottle.

So, I took a picture of the empty bottle....

I wonder if there is any coke residue in the bottle

and does that make it a goat coke float?

52 NEW RECIPES (#1)

If you saw my 2011 GOALS, then you know I plan to

try 52 recipes this year and blog them for your

enjoyment.

My hope is to find a few new recipes to add

to our favorites list.

HOAGIES AKA MEATBALL SANDWICHES

CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE

I will add link if I find the recipe online because it will

be much easier for you to print a copy if you choose it is worth it.

 Here are the ingredients!  The recipe called for bread crumbs.

I  chose Italian bread crumbs instead of making my own

plain crumbs.

I also chose a softer bread for the buns.  I am not

one for CRUSTY bread....hurts my mouth.

Please NOTE:  You can adjust the recipe on ALLRECIPES.COM

to the portion size you need.

We have our beef butchered and our ground beef is

packaged in 2 lb. packages....so I doubled the original

recipe....what you should see when you click

the link is the DOUBLED RECIPE.

 I set the oven for 350 degrees.

 I needed 4 cloves of garlic.

If you don't have one of Pampered Chef garlic things.....

YOU NEED TO GET ONE!!!

Just check this baby out!!!

 It is made of silicone....I think.

You put the little clove inside......

 Take your hand and press and roll back and forth a few times.

 VOILA'....you have a skinned clove of garlic!!!

Yes, it is THAT easy!!!

 See!  In no time flat, I had four skinned cloves!

 I used my garlic press to mince the little cloves.

 Ok, I have to admit something here......

I have NEVER EVER cooked with FRESH parsley.

I had NO IDEA parsley was used for ANYTHING other

than a plate decoration....SERIOUSLY!!!

They came with some stiff little stems that surely should

have been cut off.....I cut MOST of them off

before I put them in my handy little ULTIMATE CHOPPER.

Yes, my mother watched one too many infomercials.....

I am glad she did, 'cause this is my SECOND Ultimate

CHOPPER!!!  Thanks MOM!!!

 Here are all the mixing ingredients ready for some mixing!

Yep, that is another Pampered Chef tool that one

should not be without when cooking.

I can't STAND to use my hands to mix stuff....

it just grosses me OUT.

Guess what?  My little tool didn't quite do the job....

I had to use my HANDS....ewwwwww.

I did wash them first thank you very much!

 Are you PROUD of me???

I AM!!

It wasn't as bad as I dreamed about in my

NIGHTMARES.

 PLEASE NOTE:  The recipe directions are talking with

the original portion size.

So, when it says to make 12 meatballs, you really need to make

24.

I made more....just a few more.

 They are cooked before you put the sauce on them.

After this point, I pretty much did my own thing.

 Instead of dirtying up  another pan, I just put

all the meatballs in one pan and poured the

2 jars of sauce over them.

Popped them back into the oven and cooked for

another 10 - 15 minutes.

 Because the sauce makes soft bread even softer...ok, soggier,

I hollowed out some and stuck them in the oven to

toast them.

Those meatballs realllllly were smelling a little too

Italian, so I was paranoid about doing the garlic

butter on the bread.

I just used THE BREAD.

 When all was done, I used a slotted spoon to scoop

the meatballs onto the bread and added fancy

provolone cheese.

I just used my fancy cheese cutter potato peeler

to slice the cheese.  Seriously, you didn't think

had had some cheese slicer did you?

There was noooooo way I was going to haul out

my big food processor to grate the chunk of cheese.

Honest to Pete, I've never bought PROVOLONE before

this recipe.

 Now for your viewing glory, you get to see numerous

pictures of the NOT SO MARTHA STEWART looking

sandwich!

 Keep looking....keep drooling!

Yes, I put a meatball sandwich on FINE CHINA!

We eat all our meals on FINE CHINA.

It is not a matched set, it is pretty stuff I've

collected from family, friends and thrift stores.

 At this point, I decided to make it look prettier....

no, I left the slop on the plate....I just sliced the

sandwich!!!

 Soooooo, what is our verdict for this recipe?

As you can see my sweet Carl gives it a thumbs UP....

he would have done 2 thumbs up if he weren't sitting

in the living room instead of at the table

where he belonged.....

This recipe will go into our FAVORITES

book!  It took some time to make, but I think

it is only because it was my first try at it.

I can make a huge batch and freeze which

will save a lot of time on those nights

we need something quick.

Thanks for sharing and I hope I didn't crash

your computer with the tons of pictures.

2011 GOALS

Yes, I will once again post my goals for the new year.

I found it really helped me to stay focused in 2010.

Honestly, I felt like I fell off the goal wagon in 2010.

I wasn't even going to go back and look at the list.

I forced myself and was quite surprised at the many things I

did accomplish in 2010.

So, here I go again in 2011 with some new goals.

I chose to roll-over most of the "failed" goals from 2010, because

I do still need to get them accomplished.

I wasted 12 months in which I can't get back....do I want to make it

another 12 months of wasted time?  Of course not.

GOALS 2011

1.  52 NEW RECIPES - I am in a cooking slump.  I feel like I am making the same 7 recipes each week.  If I can try a new recipe a week, I'm sure I will find some new favorites to add to my "favorites" list.  I will also try to blog my experience.  I was going to set

a specific day of the week to try the new recipes, but I figured that would get thrown out

within the 1st few weeks....HA!

2.  CLEAN OUT THE OLD HOMESTEAD* - This is a residual goal from last year.  We did get started on it, just didn't finish.  This year, we plan to rent a dumpster

and start unloading the stuff.  We believe if we rent one and have only so many days to use it before we have to pay MORE MONEY, we will certainly work more diligently.

Goal is to work at least one hour a weekend at the homestead.

Must have the "stuff" we want to keep moved out by MAY 1st.

DEADLINE - JUNE 1st.

3.  TEAR DOWN THE OLD GARAGE* - This is ANOTHER residual goal from 2010.  We will push it over on January 2nd.

4.  RUN THE WATER LINE TO THE BARNS* - Yes, another goal from last year.  We almost got this one done in 2010, just didn't happen.

DEADLINE AUGUST 1st.

5.  PAINT MASTER BATH* - Hanging head, this is another leftover goal.  Although I DID completely redo my office in 2010!  I could have sworn that was on my 2010 list, it was not.  That goes to show that at some point, I quit looking at THE LIST.

I know this will only take a weekend to do from my office experience.

DEADLINE - MAY 1st.

6.  GET VW WINDSHIELD FIXED - I received TWO cracks within a week apart.  I am still driving around with a cracked windshield after 6 months.  I had an estimate done and this will cost approximately $225.00.  OUCH!

DEADLINE - FEBRUARY 1st.

7.  TAKE MORE PRIDE IN OUR VEHICLES - We live on a farm.  Our vehicles suffer because of this reason.  I have NO IDEA where those little tiny rocks come from...I just know I can vacuum and within 30 minutes, I've got pebbles all in the floor!

David got a shop vac for Christmas....hmmmm, think someone was thinking of this goal?

Our intention is to do a quick sweep each Sunday after church.

If we can do this weekly, it shouldn't take more than 30 minutes total for 2 vehicles, right?  :)

8.  ORGANIZE OUR CURRENT GARAGE - The garage is sort of like our office/studio.  It has become a dumping ground.  We have cabinets from the old homestead we could use in the current garage for storage.  We need a counter top for projects.

We will need to draw up a plan and start working on getting this accomplished.

DEADLINE - NOVEMBER 1st.

9.  LEARN SOME NEW THINGS TO DO WITH BREAD RECIPE - I mastered making rolls in 2010 and will continue making them at least once a month.  I just want to learn some of the versatility with the dough.  Possibly, I could make cinnamon rolls, new loaves and I certainly want to learn to make pumpernickel bread.

10.  CONTINUE TO FLY WITH THE FLYLADY - I have bounded back and forth for SEVERAL years with The Flylady.  I can now add the ZONES to my phone to help me keep focused.  In 2011, I want to master the weekly home blessing.  I am sketchy with it currently.  I do the zone work almost faithfully.  I have mastered the morning routine.  I rarely go to bed with a dirty kitchen.  Did you know that in 2010, I used the 15 minute method to sew my VERY FIRST HOMEMADE DRESS and have made 3 altogether?

I also did my complete office/studio makeover just 15 minutes at a time.

My timer is my 3rd arm.

FYI:  Just set your timer for 15 minutes and DO SOMETHING!  We often procrastinate things because our mind makes us think it is going to take an ETERNITY to complete the task.

Reality is that the job is probably less than 30 minutes and if it isn't, you will be surprised and motivated by what staying focused for 15 minutes does accomplish!

11.  FEED MY SPIRITUAL SOUL - I will admit, I am in a small desert spiritually at the moment.  Our current church home

 has had some major changes in the last 3 years.  Satan has reared his ugly head and is working on a lot of people.  The nasty thing about Satan, is he knows how to slowly boil the "frog".  Here I am 3 years later....wondering how I missed it.  I REBUKE YOU SATAN, YOU WILL NOT HAVE ME!

I have found some great online resources that are feeding me and feeding me well!

I will continue to journal my experience in my journal....because I'm a note taker like that.

I will continue attending my Sisters' Bible Study each Thursday like I have for the past 8 years.

I will continue to give to God's hurting world.

12.  READ A BOOK A MONTH - I will utilize my Kindle and the public library.

I want books that challenge me, I'm not a read fluff kinda gal.

13.  DRINK 8 GLASSES OF WATER A DAY -  I have done this long enough that I can actually feel the benefits.  I will continue to do this and also, NO SODA POP...none, nada, zip!

14.  PLANT A GARDEN - I planted one last year, and I am learning each year what works and what doesn't work.  The changes I will make this year:

1.  Only 2 rows to allow for growth

2.  Do NOT plant jalapenos and bell peppers next to each other.  Plant Jalapenos in west flower bed.

3.  Plant onions.

4.  Plant celebrity tomatoes.

5.  Plant corn closer together.

6.  BE ORGANIC.

15.  GET CHIMNEY CLEANED -

DEADLINE SEPTEMBER 1st.

16.  FIND A NEW COUCH -  The current couch hurts my back something terrible if I sit on it.  I want to find one that is off the floor enough that my ROOMBA can get underneath it.

17.  THE NEVER ENDING WEIGHT LOSS - I would be happy with 2 - 3 lbs. a month.  Portions, portions, portions.

18.  BLOG UPDATES OF PROGRESS THE 1ST OF EACH MONTH - Yah, yah, this is certainly a residual goal.  I need to utilize the "postpone a post" tool for this.

I know how easily things come and go....

I love the feeling of accomplishments.

If I don't write them down, will I truly remember what goal I set?

Probably not.

I pray your eyes are open to the blessings God brings your way in the new year.

I pray for no "tunnel vision" with prayers.

"prayers answered ONLY the way I want them answered"

LET'S GO FRIENDS! 

LET'S LIVE LOVE AND LAUGH IN 2011!!!

What Does One Do When the Temperature Reaches 70 Degrees in December?

You grab a pretty girl and take her Sr. portraits.....

I am soooo glad this girl is easier to take pictures of because

her parents are the ones I told you about before....

They are quite possibly the world's hardest couple

to get a good picture.

Allison's dad is they handy-fix-it-kinda guy

who put the spoons on my kitchen cabinets.

He also helped my hubby wubby with the cabinets

in my office/studio makeover.

MY Sugar Cookie Recipe....for My FLYFRIENDS.....

Traci's Sugar Cookie Recipe

1 c. sugar

2 3/4 c. flour

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. shortening (butter flavor if you like)

Mix ingredients together in a large bowl.  Refrigerate for an hour or more for better results.

Roll out to desired thickness....I like mine THICK.

(The above picture is not using my recipe, so they didn't come out as thick as I like)

Use cutie patootie cookie cutters.

Bake at 350 degrees until LIGHT brown...if you wait until they are brown...

you will NOT LIKE THEM.

Remove to a cooling rack.

I use a powder sugar icing w/ a tiny bit of lemon juice.

ENJOY!!!

HOW DID I DO ON MY GOALS 2010 POST.....

Are you wondering how I did on my Goals 2010?

I updated the original post.

Everything in red is the update......so CLICK HERE  to read all about it!

I Can Finally Show Off Our 2010 Christmas Tree!!!

I had a hard time putting up decorations this year for some odd reason.

Typically, we put them up the first Sunday of Advent.

Here it is, December 18, 2010 and I finally got it done!

I started to put on the ornaments 2 days ago, but

got a lovely migraine and had to stop.

Getting a migraine while doing a particular "something" is

along the same lines of eating something and then

puking your guts out.....you tend to avoid the food

you were eating because you associate it with

PUKING.

I was hanging ornaments; got a migraine....so, the

only natural thing to do is stay far far away from

the ornaments!

Believe me, it was scary to pick up the first ornament after

having the migraine....I just waited for the flash

of lightning to blazing across my eyes......

ALAS!  It did NOT appear....so, I got it FINISHED!!!

Merry Christmas friends and please, if you don't already know........

GOD LOVES YOU AND THERE'S NOT A THING
YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT! 

Isn't that the

most beautiful feeling in the world???