Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Tuesday Tumblings

Hi deee hooooo my peeps!!!

Well so far so good this week so we're gonna attempt to get back on track on the blog and that means it's Tuesday and it's time to tumble!!


I found this little gnome pot hanger at the HobLob and now the Hubster has taken to moving him around the kitchen too.  



Then one day last week the cow showed up on my bathroom vanity protecting a very special surprise from the Hubster.  Guess where I'm gonna be on May 18th!!! 

And this is how I feel about that....


(p.s. If you haven't joined the Duck Dynasty bandwagon, you should!)



Hubster and Merebear made a little trip to Baton Rouge last week to visit the ole' LSU.  I didn't get to go because I had a doctors appointment that really didn't need to be missed.  So they brought me this  Apple Pie Moonshine.  


We've had a funny obsession with finding Apple Pie Moonshine since Mags brought it to "life" on Justified.   Just so you know, whew this stuff  beastly!!  We've joked that $20 can buy you a lot of fun or a lot of pain with this stuff!






I made some Fruity Pebble Granola Bars for their little road trip.
Hubster thought they were sweet like rice krispie treats and was quite disappointed to find oatmeal inside.  Duh....that's why I called them G R A N O L A bars!!   silly man



I received my goodie box from House Party.  It's FULL of L"Oreal and Redbook goodies.
Party is this week and we're gonna be just gorgeous at the end of the night.



This hungry thing is a mess, just a mess.  He's had some serious food allergies so this past week I've been making his own food.  Good gosh, the dog is eating better than we are!!   We are on our 4th different food trial today so crossing fingers this one works.



I made a pineapple UpsideDown Cake on Sunday.  I tell ya, this thing gave me fits!
I've never worked so hard on a cake in my life.  



These two guys turned 50 last week.  We had us a little get together to celebrate and Frankie loves Pineapple Upside Down Cake and Chuck requested Texas Ranch Cake so that's what they got.  Plus we had ice cream so it was a good day indeed!


At this very moment this is simmering on my stove.
Yep, we got us a big pot o' red beans working.  They cooked all night and Hubster said he woke up with his stomach growling.  


And this is my "baby" boy.  We went down to Waco to watch a little baseball on Saturday.
Hubster finally got his way and got a picture of us together with the Abogg in his uniform. 
I'm ever so glad he did!



This is one of the few times you will get a full body view of me.
I just cringe when I see myself in pictures but I know one day I'll be glad I have the photos.


Last topic today is weather....WTH???   Seriously it was 78 yesterday and tonight 30's!!!
My vegetables and my flowers are not going to thrive very well this year!

So what's up with everyone this week?  Did you all spend as much time glued to the TV last week as I did?  Just couldn't stop watching it all.  We're still in the throws of the West disaster around here so keep that little town in your prayers, it's gonna be a long road for those folks.  

Peace, Love & Iced Tea Jack!  
  quack quack

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Tuesday on Wednesday

Hey Peeps!!!

I've just been so bad with the blog this week but I have good excuses. Wanna hear them?  Good, I knew you would.

So Saturday the Abogg was supposed to have a double header at UNT but there was a mixup regarding the fields and they only played one. Good thing...I was sooooooo sunburned.
Of course this meant that Sunday was a double header.  I have to brag a bit, the boy was on FIRE!!!  Seriously he was a batting machine and a fielding pro.   Just one of those days where the baseball gods smile on you. Pictures?  Oh, you want pictures....yeah I forgot the camera again.  I did remember the sunscreen on Sunday!!  I am definitely going to take the camera this weekend for sure for sure!

Anywho, we had some kind of grilled meat for dinner and then the Abogg and I headed out for a late movie on Sat. night.

We saw The Place Beyond the Pines.   All I can say is you might need an antidepressant when you leave.  Crazy dark depressing movie.  However I'm sure I love Bradley Cooper more and more every day, Abogg feels the same about Ms. Mendes.  Oh and Ray Liotta is one creepy guy in this movie.

Good movie, just sad and depressing.  So let's lighten things up a bit since it's been such a downer of a week.










Last spring I planted a ton of bulbs and just waited to see what happened.  This poor plant was run over by the lawn mower like a zabillion times last year.  It's darn near a bush now, have no clue what it is either.  Hopefully it will bloom soon so we can solve the mystery.



Last Thursday we had pancakes and bacon for dinner.
Why we don't do that more often is beyond me.  



We moved a ton of Iris' to another section of the yard.  Apparently Iris' are like bunnies in the reproduction department.  We had our first bloom of the year.   Spring really is here!



Merebear and I are home alone this week.  Hubster is working out of town so we had Taco's last night.



Half the shells were broken, so we actually had tacos and taco salad.



I had one of my most favorites breakfast this morning.  Whole grain waffle with peanut butter, banana and honey.  <buuuurrrp>





And finally Mr. I Now Weigh 60 pounds has had an upset tummy and I figured out he is allergic to the food he's been eating.  In order to, ahem, "firm things up" around here I took him off dog food and have been feeding him a bland diet.  I'll get him back on food in another day or two so mostly I've been cooking for the dog.   If you need to know how to make oatmeal, instant rice, boiled chicken and eggs, dip pumpkin, yogurt or cottage cheese from the container I'm seriously your woman.

Leftovers tonight as Merebear is at the boyfriends and then her and the Hubster leave tomorrow afternoon for a college visit so I'll be having dinner alone until Saturday.   Don't expect any cooking.
I can eat cereal and popcorn for dinner any and every day of the week!!

Last comment of the day....this chick's voice.

Like nails on a chalkboard!!   


How's your week so far?  I know it's been a downer week but things will get better.
This guy and his mama said so and you know I believe them.


It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, be a helper. 

Peace, Love & Blessings

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Orange Pull Apart Bread

What the heck weather???  Seriously I wore shorts and a sleeveless tshirt all day yesterday and today I'm freezing to death in yoga pants, tshirt, sweatshirt and thick socks!
Does this make any sense at all??  Is it any wonder we're all sick?   Maybe that's why the dog is so wound up too, because he's been a very bad doggie today.

Before I get started on the bread I'm gonna get all serious for a minute or two.  You guys know I love to blog and I love to read blogs but am I the only one who feels like God isn't speaking to me like He does everyone else?    I mean there has been so much talk lately of how Pinterest has become such a slam to everyone.  It can make you feel like you  don't throw the best parties, you can't take a $3 dresser from the thrift store and turn it into something HGTv worthy, your wardrobe is sad and outdated, you don't exercise three hours a day and your food is not for vegans, vegetarians, paleo, gluten free, sugar free....yada yada yada.  All those things can either tear you down or inspire you and I like to think my boards are inspiring and even wishful thinking and dreaming but the one thing that gets me every time is how Pinterest and other blogs are making me feel like my faith and my relationship with God is inferior.  I'm glad God was speaking to you so loudly that you had to pull over to the side of the road, I'm thrilled that you managed to pray yourself or your family out of some devastating disease but you know there's a way to tell that story to be uplifting but instead it seems that it is now a prayer competition, you know like your Gods favorite child and I'm the "red headed step child".   (Don't be getting bent out of shape over the step child comment....my son is a step child and I have 2 girls that are my step children and I assure you they have NEVER been treated any differently than if I had birthed each and every one of them. I prefer the term "bonus" children because that's really what they are)  Back on track, am I the only one feeling this way?  You know you got a big ole' tax refund because you prayed about it, your house sold out of the blue for way more money than it's worth because you prayed God would let you expand your family so He did and He gave you so much more than you asked for.  Seriously? Do you believe you are the only one praying for good things?  I'm not bitter, I'm just angry because we call ourselves Christians and we build ourselves up to a holier than thou status because we "recognized" where God was working and we see our neighbor not getting what they prayed for so we begin to believe we're better Christians because God chose to answer our prayers and not theirs.  I beg everyone (myself included) stop tearing everyone else down so you feel better about yourself.  Wave your crazy amazing kitchen remodel in front of my face and tell me how much you saved by painting your own cabinets and how easy it really was, inspire me to believe I can do it too but DO NOT tell me God loves you more because you pin all these inspiring quotes, write endless blog posts about God blessing you so immensely because you just prayed and prayed, don't quote me bible verses and then 2 minutes later post on Facebook how crazy your spouses' ex is or how amazing you are because you think you're "smarter" than everyone else because you are the only one who passed the test.  There's a fine line in being proud of an accomplishment and being so proud of your accomplishment that you are belittling everyone else.  There is already so much evil and bad in the world can't we all just stick together and be prayer warriors for each other?  Can you just ask one person to let you take a worry of theirs away and pray for them and sincerely mean it, not just say it. We're all in this together and we've already got enough fake on the Real Housewives shows to go around for everyone.

(btw:  I used to watch RHONJ all the time and sadly I find it incredibly funny)

Okie doke...let's make some bread because we definitely need some sweet with all that.
This is "product" I made for Hubster to take to work on Monday and I will tell you that I spent the better part of the afternoon on it (off and on)

Here is the printable you might need it to follow along.  This is NOT complicated just a little time consuming but seriously worth every minute.

Dough Ingredients


  • 2 1/2 cups AP flour, divided, plus additional for kneading
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast (1 package)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 5 Tbsp. milk
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened and divided
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs, room temperature

Filling  Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 4 Tbsp. orange zest (about 3 oranges)
Place sugar and zest in a bowl and rub between your fingers until combined.  
It will be fragrant, moist and resemble wet sand.
Glaze  Ingredients

  • Orange Juice from zested oranges
  • Powdered sugar
Place powdered sugar in a bowl and splash in the orange juice while whisking until smooth and form glaze.





In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour, the sugar, the yeast & salt. Set aside.
Put 4 Tbsp. of the butter and all the milk in small bowl.  
Microwave, stirring occasionally, just until the butter melts.  
Allow to cool for about 1 minute, then add the water and vanilla.
Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients, using the paddle attachment on the mixer, stir until combined. Add the eggs, one a time, stirring until fully incorporated after each one.
Replace paddle attachment with dough hook and add the 1/2 cup of remaining flour and mix until smooth. If the dough seems sticky add a couple of Tablespoons of flour until smooth.


Knead until smooth
Place the kneaded dough in a well oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  
Set aside until doubled in bulk, about an hour.
(I like to put mine in the oven, just to keep it away from drafts-the oven is not on!)


Oil and line a bread pan while the dough is rising.


After the dough has risen, roll it out onto a well floured surface into a 20x12 rectangle.


  1. Spread the remaining 4 Tbsp. butter over the entire surface then sprinkle the filling over the top.  Spread and press lightly into butter and dough.




  1. Cut the dough into 5 4x12 strips (you will be cutting lengthwise) and then stack them on top of each other, alternating dough and filling.

  1. Cut that stack into six 2x4 pieces.  

  1. Take the cut stacks and place them in the prepared pan with the 4” sides facing up.

  1. Use your fingers or butter knife to fan out the layers if necessary.




  1. Cover the loaf with plastic wrap and set aside to double in bulk, about an hour.  
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.



  1. Bake the loaf for 30-35 minutes until the top is golden brown.

  1. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes then remove from pan.

  1. Drizzle with glaze and let set before serving (IF you can wait).

Here is the printable again for ya!


That's all I got for today and I hope you guys will forgive my brief stint on the soap box. Just do something nice for someone and expect nothing in return and smile.
It'll do your soul good!!

Peace, Love & Orange Yummies!!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

TuTuTuesday Tumblings

Yep yep yep, it's TuTuTuesday.

I still want a TuTu because this is how I'd act when wearing one.

me honey boo boo chiild!!!


nooo, he's not too big for his bed is he?
over 50 lbs at almost 6 months...lawdy!



I really really do have a bowl of chapstick on my coffee table.
 Because I never want this to happen to me.


Chapped lips are a tragedy best avoided.



I'm showing you this again because I like it.
Also it is lime green, maybe Instagram didn't like the color so it changed it.



ALL of these came in the mail on one day.
That's what I call a good mail day for sure.
Much imaginary money was spent looking at these.



I can honestly say that I scraped and used the very last drop of this stuff.
Clinique Almost Powder Foundation in 04 Neutral.
You know in case someone wants to send me some more.



I made this Orange Pull Apart bread on Sunday for the Hubster to take to work on Monday.
He works with a guy (who is not from the US) and he has been particularly enjoying the goodies I've sent to work and asked "Is your wife not liking us any longer? She has not sent product this week."
My new favorite saying now, what kind of product are we having for dinner? What product would you like today?   

 Truth be told this is how someone wanting my product makes me feel


It's always nice to know your "product" is loved.  


I think I'll go take a shower now but I'm kind of afraid, we've already been a bad bad dog this morning.
Now we definitely need a new bed and constant supervision.


oh, before I forget I need some help.
This is my powder room and after 4 years, I'm tired of it.


(note: the bathroom looked like this when we moved in)
I'm a little over the leopard wallpaper BUT the vanity will have to stay.


And this will need to be done on a teensy tiny budget.

I'm really wanting a nice 'cottage" look.
Any ideas??



Adding fuel to the fire, this is the ceiling.  It's black.
Yeah, you're gonna make me paint that thing I'm sure of it.
Oh and the trim is an off white.

Ready, Set, GO with the ideas in the comments....please??!!


Peace, Love & Products!!

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