Wide Open Spaces

Wide open spaces is more than a country song! It describes my upper kitchen cabinets. Since we have been in our home, I never put anything above my cupboards, except for some Christmas garland (that didn't make it up this year), and the dust bunnies! I really have no excuse for this. I'm not sure if it is laziness, lack of decor, or not wanting to contribute to any additional clutter in my home! By the way, this is what my typical lived in kitchen looks like! I didn't bother to "spruce" it up for the before pics!

However, I was encouraged to try decorating this space after reading, "The House Always Wins" by Marni Jameson. I blogged about this book recently and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on her newest book, "House of Havoc". Hopefully, the library will be notifying me that it is ready for pick-up!

One thing I decided to do was shop my own home! You know the concept, where you look around your home for items that might be in storage or could be used in a different location. This doesn't cost a thing! It gives some "new life" and variety to those items. Here is the possible collection that I came up with!



I also realized that decorating above your cabinets is a great work out! I was up and down on a kitchen chair, placing items, stepping back and taking a good look, and then repeating the process! Here is what I came up with....





Just a few items. Not a lot of clutter. And, I'm also looking for a couple of additional accessories, possibly a sign or "kitchen word". Any ideas? Do you decorate above your kitchen cabinets? What has worked for you?

Half Birthday

Today is my oldest daughter's half birthday. Which also means it is my half birthday! Yes, she was born on my birthday! How cool is that?! She wanted to "celebrate" with sundaes from McDonalds! You can't beat that $1 dessert!

I'm not sure if I was celebrating my half birthday, or not. It could be that I know what is coming on August 20. You see, I will be turning the big "40"! There, I said it! According to Edie, "40 is the new 30"! She just recently reached this milestone. Hopefully I will be taking her philosophy. I've also thought that I might make a list, similar to what Meg did, but I would need to change it to "40 things I would like to do before I turn 40"! Does anyone have any great ideas that I might add to my list? I'm sure if I decide to come up with a list, that I will make it public and blog about it!

Solutions Seekers

The other night I went to a very unique gathering called Solutions Seekers. It was the brainstorm of three sisters who wanted to gather with other women who were interested on how to better their homes, family life and self! So, they put together five mini seminars on topics that were of interest to them. They sent out emails inviting all the women in their circles, to see who would be interested in gathering, to share ideas and network together. Over 25 women attended this initial meeting!! I'm passionate that we, as women, have a desire to learn more, and simplify how we can make our house into a home!

It was a brilliant idea to have all of our contact information ahead of time, which included any areas that we specialize in and any "tips" that work for us. Plus, it included where we were at in life (married, children, career, areas we struggle with etc.). Our plans is to meet as a large group in six months, with the possibility of smaller interest groups meeting on a regular basis.

Here are the topics that were included:

1. Meal planning! We looked at the Cooking Among Friends approach.
2. Organizing and cleaning! From the flylady.
3. Finances and budget! Dave Ramsey
4. Being a better wife! Looked at the book, "Love & Respect"
5. Keeping & building memories with your family! Helpful ideas with Creative Memories photo keeping system.




It was just a great evening and I'm looking forward to see what happens with this group in the future! I'm always looking for tips and ways to improve our home life!

What have been some of your greatest "tips" or pieces of advice from these areas? Also, if you are on facebook, check out the Solutions Social!

Remember this chicken? Well, I put it to good use last week! I made this "chicken casserole." The recipe doesn't have an official name. Sometimes I call it Mexican chicken casserole and other times I call in Enchilada casserole! Either way it is great and very simple! Plus, it is easy to switch up the ingredients.

Here is the official recipe:

1 fryer chicken cooked and cut up (I used the shredded chicken breast cooked in the crock pot)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I used a 2nd can of chicken soup - I was out of cream of mushroom)
1 - 10 oz. can tomatoes with green chilies (I used a jar of homemade salsa)
1/2 can chicken broth (I used water with chicken bouillon)
1 dozen corn tortillas, cut into bite size pieces (I used soft taco shells, flour & corn tortillas, whatever I had left)
1 onion chopped (I used onion flakes)
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:

To make sauce, blend until smooth; soups, tomatoes and chicken broth. Set aside.
In a 9 x 13 pan layer 1/2 chicken, 1/2 tortillas, 1/2 onion, 1/2 cheese and 1/2 sauce. Then repeat.

Bake uncovered for one hour at 350 degrees.

Valen-Time

No, I didn't miss-spell my title! What started out as a simple post about writing out Valentine cards, has become a little more heart felt! My girls were so excited to purchase, and write out their cards for their classmates, that I had to hold them back! I kept thinking, we have a lot of time before your class party!

Where did my girls get there task oriented thinking? Could it be from me? Is this a good thing? What am I teaching them? What do I really want them to learn? I am passionate about the home, but what do I want my girls to take away from this? Do I want them to be good organizers and know there way around a kitchen? Or am I more concerned that they have a heart for those who are in the kitchen? How are my own actions and words teaching this?

I believe that being a Mom is one of the greatest and hardest jobs out there! Who agrees with me? I have so much to learn and growth to do in this role. Our children pick up so much from us - every sigh, rolling of the eyes, and raising of our voice. To just name a few.....well, not so great traits of mine! I'm thankful for the grace that God gives me with this position and that my girls are learning some "good things" and not just picking up on the bad.

Snow Day!

I love a snow day! Being a part-time teacher, who is also married to a teacher, I love snow days! There is just something so sweet about a break from the normal routine! Living in the Mid-West we get our fair share of snow, but this year our snow totals are a little on the short side. It must be because of all the big storms in the East!

Anyway, our family has enjoyed a day of playing the wii!



Drinking to much of this!



And, I've been trying to study this - digital scrap booking! I'm preparing for a weekend of Creative Memories "catch up"!



I hope you are enjoying your day! And if it is filled with snow - have a great SNOW DAY!

For Mom!

Yesterday I was talking with my and soon our conversation headed towards the Superbowl. Most importantly, we talked about the food that we would be serving. I was between making two different dips and my Mom said, "could you please post your white pizza dip on your blog?" So, here is the recipe Mom and for anyone else who is interested!

8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 package Lipton savory herb & garlic soup mix
Package pepperoni cut into small pieces

Mix and place in a pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Note - Recipe can be doubled and placed in a 9 x 13 pan.

I know the recipe sounds a little fattening (and it likely is), but please notice that I did use all "low fat ingredients"! Serve with bagel chips, crackers, bread sticks,or cubed French bread.

Valentine Decor

I put up a few decorations for Valentine's Day! I don't do a lot of holiday decorating, with the exception of Christmas, but this year I decided to put up a few of my things! Since, I'm a "seasonal decorator" I had plenty of red that I was able to stretch through for a number of the holidays!

Insecure?

Have you bought this book yet? I got my copy on Tuesday. I'm planning to join in the cyberspace discussion here at the LPM blog! Currently I'm not in a regular Bible study, and I'm not suggesting that this take the place of a regular study, but I'm excited about this topic!! Can anyone else relate?

Homemade?

I made pizza for dinner last night. So, I thought I would throw out the question, "Do you make your own pizza, buy frozen, or takeout?" To answer my question I usually make it or purchase takeout. It has been years since I bought a frozen pizza, but there are some great deals on those frozen staples!



I have a number of pizza dough recipes, but my latest one comes from the Pioneer Woman's Cookbook. The beauty of this recipe is that it makes 2 large crusts!

You might have noticed that we have cheese topping only eater in our family!