Swan Lake

.:.

Swan Lake

Carley Ann and Anna Claire couldn't watch this video of awesome, talented people enough.

Fresh Pineapple Chicken Wrap Appetizer

Fresh Pineapple Chicken Wrap Appetizer


1 T orange Marmalade
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup cream cheese
salt/pepper
1 6 oz can chicken drained
1 large slice fresh pineapple, finely chopped
1 medium shredded carrot – save some shreds for garnish
dash or two of dried onion flakes

Beat all of the above in mixer.
Spread on large soft flour tortillas. Roll them up and slice into small portions about 1/2 inch thick making the appetizer look like little pinwheels. Secure with toothpick if needed. Serve with fresh fruits and bits of shredded carrot or carrot curls for garnish.

Christmas Songs

.:.

.:.

Christmas Cheer Everyone

.:.

Happy Birthday Carley Ann

.:.

Your MeMama loves you so much.

Birthday pictures will follow. :)

Cornbread Dressing

.:.

Just so I won't lose this recipe, I'm posting it here. It's a simple recipe, but for some reason I'm always second guessing myself, so having the recipe saved here where I can find it quickly makes good sense... plus I wanted to share it with you.

Cornbread Dressing

6 cups of crumbled pre-cooked cornbread
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Chicken stock to moisten well - final batter should look just like uncooked cornbread
1/2 stick melted butter

Mix all ingredients well and pour into a baking pan. Bake for 1 hour at 375 deegrees.

Sometimes I use a half of a bag of herb dressing mix like Pettridge Farm instead of part of the cornbread. When I do this I don't use the sage. My son likes this dressing without celery so if I do use celery, I make sure I reserve some batter without the celery. Usually I just half the batter before adding the celery and then when I put the batter in the baking dish I put one type batter on one end and the celery batter on the other. After it's finished baking I garnish the celery side with celery leaves so everyone will know which side to eat. Both sides usually get gone equally fast. I like the edges crispy and the center very moist, so I watch the baking time and take the dressing out as soon as the center is set soft. The edges get crispy because I make sure to grease the sides of the pan with shortening. I know this is not weight watcher friendly, but dressing isn't something that you eat everyday and you can always try to eat small portions. Good luck if you can. :)

Smiling

.:.

Victory again

.:.

Singing

.:.Carley Ann will be 4 in December and Anna Claire turned 2 in June. Anna makes up her own songs. :)

Muffins, Pumpkins and work

Anna Claire and Carley Ann love to paint, color and do anything making things. That's natural. :) They also love to copy anything they see others doing, so it's no surprise that Carley Ann has taken up calling her finished papers "her work". We put a small table in the TV room right in front of the TV so they can watch Barney and the Wiggles while they "do their work".



Friday I went and picked them up at day school. We had lots to do to help Daddy get ready for the mission project he was leaving for today. We made muffins for the children he was going to help in Mississippi... but we ate some of them... and then daddy came and ate some of the others. Thankfully we still had plenty left.



The muffins turned out really good complete with sprinkles on the top. :)

Big Grin

.:.

Girls will be girls

.:.

More McDonald's

.:.

Saturday at Micky D's

.:.

Muffins

.:.

Carley Ann - last Sunday

.:.

Carley Ann and Cocoa Puff

Carley Ann and Cocoa Puff yesterday.

Remembering Mrs. Franklin

.:.

Tom Franklin, Verlene Franklin, Sandra Franklin

Spa day

Anna hasn't been feeling well, so today she had a spa day to lift her spirits.

Painting

.:.

A merry heart

.:.

Shivering Lips

This afternoon I swam with Anna Claire, Carley Ann, Terri and Brent in their pool. We had a ball and then when it was time to get out I told Carley Ann that we had to get out because her lips were shivering. We laughed our heads off when she took her hand to feel if her lips were really shivering and then said they weren't. I wish I had a video. It would win a million.

2nd Birthday Celebration for Anna Claire

.:.

Anna Claire's 2nd birthday celebration is this Saturday. Here's her birthday cake in progress. It might change a bit with the addition of some cut little props like you would find on the beach, and I might add some stripes to the soles of the shoes, but the basic idea is there. :)

The sand is made from a peanut butter base with crushed graham crackers sprinkled on top. The cake is strawberry on the inside and the straps are made from twislers. I have some gummy fish I might use... and some tiny gum drops that look like sea pebbles... I'm going to try to make some other beachy things like sea shells to sprinkle around too. The flowers around the sole of the flops is that 3 foot long fruit roll ups. Too cute, huh.

Anna Claire growing

Anna Claire tickles me. She is growing sooooo tall. On June 19 she will be two.

Happy Birthday Jesus

Just sharing again.

Poetry day

IF

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!


--Rudyard Kipling

Although this poem is written for the guys of this earth, I have always loved it and find wisdom in these words.

Flamingo 1

.:.

We can cut out around his legs if you think we need wind holes.

The white part of the plywood is what will be cut away. The rest will be painted either as the bird, flowers, trees, sign or whatever.

Steel Magnolias in the Making

Carley Ann and Grace

February is slipping by

.:.

I am improving greatly and just realized that I haven't posted Christmas pictures, so here is a few of Anna Claire and Carley Ann.

Anna learns to sing

I'm slowly getting better and able to sit at the computer for longer periods of time since my trouble with my knee, leg and hip hopped on me. :) Here's a video of my grandchildren I thought you might enjoy.



http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=add2279d140d3ddc9d8e

Us last year

.:.

Funny how just one year makes a big difference.