A gift for Kristin

One of my co-workers is leaving to become a full-time mommy and part-time student.  We put together a tongue-in-cheek laundry basket of things we thought she would need for her new life:  bon bons, trashy magazines, sleep mask, slippers, hair bonnet...

we know it will be no picnic for her (we are all moms, too!), but it was fun to put together.

I made her an apron to go with a wonderfully ugly coffee mug I found at a a thrift store.  Perfect! I got the fabric at Joann's, made a simple apron with ties, and embellished with a few trims I already had - they matched perfectly.  Don't poms poms just make you smile?

I really meant it to be a fun thing, but she loved it and said she would actually wear it - which is amazing as she doesn't cook; her hubby runs a couple restaurants so he takes care of that.  That's not to say she will have a life of leisure - she's just swapping her part-time job for school, and I know she'll have her work cut out for her with a 6 month old.  We commiserate and support each other - learning all about each other's kids and lives and serving as sympathetic listeners...

The mug gave me a chuckle - I hope it makes her smile, too, remembering us every time she pours herself a cup of coffee.  And I will miss her even as I wish her the best of luck!

I worry...

.....because that's what I do.  I wouldn't be your mom if I wasn't worried for you.

I know you'll grow up, and you'll do just fine, and someday you'll be a pal of mine.

But today, I'm your MOM, I can't be your friend;

I'm a parent who wants uncertainty about your future to end,

who likes things tidy and planned, oh-so-neat....

and right now they aren't.  

And I can't rhyme something to that, because I feel worried out of my mind.

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~ Elizabeth Stone 

Penne Pasta Skillet

Here is another "working woman's friend" recipe that  also freezes well if you happen to be mindful enough to plan ahead, or if you have leftovers...I usually fall into the latter group...

Penne Pasta Skillet

1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 jar of your favorite sketti sauce
2 c. water
3 c. uncooked penne pasta (we happen to like penne rigata!)
1 c. shredded mozzarella

 Can you tell where I shopped this week? (:

In a large covered skillet, brown the meat then drain it*.

 then add the water and the spaghetti sauce.

 Stir in the pasta, and bring it to a boil. 

Lower the heat and cover it, letting it simmer gently for about 20 minutes.  Take it off the heat, sprinkle the cheese on top, and re-cover it while you fix a salad or some garlic cheese bread. (For that I spread on a mixture of butter, garlic, and parmesan cheese on half a loaf of French bread and broil til browned and crusty)

******

A pretty simple recipe, and one you could change up depending on the sauce you use, and even the pasta...so simple a kid could make it; tonight was Bubbie's turn to cook.  I LOVE getting the boys into the kitchen.  It makes them more likely to eat it up!

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*I  rinse the meat after I brown it - it's just my quirky way of getting as much fat off it as I can (:

Trip to Brenham

Last Friday I wanted to get the heck out of Austin for some time with my mama...so I did!

We ate a delicious fried seafood lunch

 at a restaurant with a nice view

 Brenham is 'country' and very pretty...

 

 we admired my mother's new bottle tree sculpture

 

 and the garden - lots and lots of tomatoes coming on...

 as well as onions!

 

 we coaxed the chickies into giving us eggs...which they did

 

and enjoyed some homemade raisin pecan pie which was soooo good..

It was a nice visit!

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Hubby's tie tutorial

Recently Scout had to dress up for a band banquet...and Dad was called upon for a little...demonstration

 And by that, I mean he had to basically start from scratch...

learning the fine art of measuring down to his belt buckle

 

wrap it around, and up and through...

 

well, you're getting there

 

 

 Dad goes through the motions again.  

Reminds Scout it's like tying ropes in scouts...

 

Maybe if they were in front of a mirror?

 I gotta hand it to Hubby being very patient...

but we're about to be late!

 That was tricky, eh Scout?

 His girlfriend helped with the buttons on the cuffs.

 How do I look?

 Awww...gosh, so sweet!

Sprucing the den bookcase

We have this nice sized built-in bookcase in the den.  It was a little blah and I guess I just didn't have enough to do one day...it was one of those projects that morphs from something reasonable to something time-consuming...

Those bean bags need to go back out to the garage!

The bookcase needed dusting and re-arranging in the worst way.  Taking the things off the shelves, I realized that in places the shelves were yellowed and scratched up...so I removed them all and gave them a lick of fresh white paint.

 

Then I remembered I had seen other people paint the back of their bookcase a color to make the objects on the shelf stand out better.  We have been in this house 13 years and I haven't cleaned the book case out but maybe a couple times...I'm so ashamed....

 Oh what a fabulous job the person who built it did on cutting out the outlet opening.  Not.

And I am not fond of the random light switch here, but I have an idea of how to deal with both of those things...

I didn't want to rush out and buy new paint and I wanted it to go with everything in the room no matter the color scheme.  So I ended up using the same "oops" paint that I painted behind the couch and over the mantel.  It probably wasn't the best formula of paint - it has no primer in it, so its gonna be easy to destroy by scratching things against it until it cures... so, ya'll don't do that, K?

 I painted over the switch plate cover so it would just blend in...

I bought a blank to cover that outlet, which was inconvenient to use anyhow, then painted over it, too. 

Can you see it?

 I love this shade of green - Italian Olive - I painted hubby's owl in that color, too.  

This basket holds magazines.

 I'm not gonna win any wards for decorating, but it looks so much cleaner and nicer now.  It's a functional bookcase as it houses our DVD's, VHS tapes (yes. We have them), textbooks, and hubby's weather station.

But there are a few little touches here and there just  for pretty

No one here even noticed I had painted the back wall, and it ended up taking most of the afternoon, but like the crisp white against that sandy brown.  I'm thinking about making room for the owl to live over here, too.

Whatcha think?

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