Santo Cinco…. de Mayo that is!!! May 5, 2011

Ok, first I’ll start with a little Mexican history {because honestly, I look this up every year for myself}.

Cinco de Mayo is observed to commemorate the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Contrary to widespread popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day {the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico, which occurs on September 16th}.

The Battle of Puebla was important for at least two reasons. First, although considerably outnumbered, the Mexicans defeated a much better-equipped French army. “This battle was significant in that the 4,000 Mexican soldiers were greatly outnumbered by the well-equipped French army of 8,000 that had not been defeated for almost 50 years.” Second, it was significant because since the Battle of Puebla no country in the Americas has been invaded by a European military force. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_de_Mayo

Now with all of that “technical” stuff aside I can get down to the good stuff!!! MEXICAN FOOD!!!

My little family loves Mexican food, so obviously, it only makes sence for this all American family to celebrate this joyous holiday! {As if we really need an excuse to make/eat mexican lol!}

Tonight I decided it would only be right for me to serve up comida, fiesta style!

SO… I made homemade refried beans, mexican rice and pollo verde! Wowzer! It was yummy! {Sorry I forgot to take pics, but I’ll post recipes in a later blog as I will be making it again!}

For me the best part was dessert!!! Oh yeah! I made dessert!!! {A rarity in my house!}

Banana and Dulce de Leche Chimichangas!

3 bananas sliced

1/4 c butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp cream/milk

pinch of cinnamon

3 flour tortillas

ice cream/whipped topping {optional}

 

Preheat Oven to 375*

To start slice up your bananas as your butter melts in a saucepan, after butter is melted add brown sugar and stir until combined well. Stir in your cream or milk {or if you’re like me and are out of milk you can use flavored coffee creamer… it didn’t add or take from the taste}. Fold in your bananas, reduce the heat to low and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Next put 2-3 spoonfuls of banana mixture in the center of each tortilla and fold up burrito style. Brush lightly with melted butter and bake in the oven at 375* for 10-15  minutes until golden brown and puffy!

Now top with ice cream and drizzle with any leftover banana mixture!

OH YEAH!!!

I must warn you that this is one of those desserts that is super rich and delicious but you just simply cannot put it down!!!

Don’t feel too bad about it though! It’s baked instead off fried {and I used fro-yo instead of ice cream!}

Ok you guys! GO make some!!!!

Love,

Amanda

Spring Break & Then Some! May 1, 2011

Ok… I know, I know… I have been seriously slacking in the blogging department, but I just haven’t had the time and really haven’t felt like it! But, that is all going to change because I have also been feeling very guilty about not blogging!

I really don’t know how many readers I have, but those that have subscribed and have commented that you read, I want you to know that I appreciate the time you take to spend with me 🙂 and I’ll be giving you more of that!

Well, enough with the “excuses”! It’s time to get down to it!!!

Here is what has been going on with us! {in pics}

As you can see between sewing, life and entertaining my 2 youngest sisters through their spring break I haven’t had the time/energy to blog!

Well that’s it for now & see you soon!!!

Love,

Amanda 

Shopping & Savings March 30, 2011

Yesterday I took my husband on a trip to the local Whole Foods (another of our favorite groceries). We shop there a couple of times a month, but I don’t go there for a lot of my groceries because they are… well, expensive.

Yesterday was a different story. I went in with the mind-set of shopping on a budget! What I mean by that is, I was paying closer attention to prices and comparing value/using coupons!

With that being said I came out with more bang for my buck!

{* =sale, + =coupon, WF= Whole Foods}

• 1 lb ground white turkey
• 1 lb ground dark meat turkey
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1/2 pt. blueberries
• Ezekiel Cinnamon Rasin Bread
• WF Organic tomato basil pasta sauce
• 2 large lemons*
• Organic Italian cheese+
• Sour Cream+
• Chiobani Greek Yogurt+
• Fire Roasted tomatoes+
• WF Sharp Cheddar
• Silken Tofu
• Dates
• 4 bunches fresh broccoli

I got ALL of that for the grand total of {drum roll please}……. $44.94!!!!

This is everything I needed (and a little extra) for the makings of our next 3 suppers and leftovers for Joseph’s lunches!

Tuesday night: Dark turkey burgers topped with a tomato mixture on top of whole wheat english muffins served with spicy steamed broccoli.

Wednesday night: Tacos (made with turkey burger). I already had most of these ingredients at home and only needed the meat.

Thursday night: Grilled Chicken Parmesan with whole wheat pasta.

Friday: I will use the leftover cheeses and veggies to make a Frittata (with the eggs that I already have).

I also got all of the ingredients to make Lemon Cream with Ana!

• 12 oz silken tofu
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 8 pitted dates coarsely chopped
• 1/8 tsp ground cardamom (which I didn’t have, and didn’t miss it in the taste)
• fresh blueberries (to top)

I also added a drizzle of honey for sweetness

This stuff is so good! You would never know that it’s healthy! Top it with some fresh fruit and enjoy!

Schooling & Such March 29, 2011

Today was a very fun day! Ana had her very first day of “preschool”!

Now before you go thinkin’ that I put her in an actual preschool let me explain!

 I decided (or have been thinking about for quite some time) that I wanted to “home-preschool” Ana now before she is actually preschool age. Reason being, she is smart. I’m not just saying that because she is my daughter, it’s just true. She can say anything and has a memory that blows my mind! {I know I sound like one of “those” parents, but I really don’t care.}

That being said today we had a couple “lessons”. Math was first…

We used this print out "phone pad" to practice her numbers! She would "push the button" and I would say each number in a different tone. 🙂

…next was Shapes and Colors!

She moved these from this wall to the wall next to the phone pad. Every time she got a new shape I would tell her the shape and color. By the end of the day (this evening) she knew all of the shapes!

She already knows some of her colors (pink especially lol), so I wasn’t pushing that as hard as I could have.

After these first 2 lessons it was snack time, then on to art “class”! 

Supplies: Paper, empty oatmeal canister, broken crayons, finger paint...

After I taped the paper to the inside we put paint onto each piece of crayon and dropped it in! Then it was time to shake, rattle, and roll!

 

This is going on my wall next to her last finger painting art work! 🙂

 

Then it was time to work on position/direction. For this I used cut out hands and feet and taped them to the wall and floor. We used these to give hi-fives (hands) and low-fives (feet) {teaching high and low}. Also, we did a little jumping, showing up and down. 🙂

We had SO much fun in “school” today, and the best part… she napped earlier than usual!!!

I hope you all have had a great day and now I’m off th catch up in my “Tiger Mom” book, I have a book discussion on Friday so I have to finish it!

Be Blessed!

Festivities Food & Fun! March 25, 2011

This week has been a pretty good one {looking back}. We have had lots of fun and family time. 🙂

Tuesday Ana and I were supposed to go to a playdate at a park about 30 min. from us but… let’s just say she didn’t want to get up! So we went to a park closer and ran errands instead. It was still lots of fun, and I got to chat with a nice mom while we were at the park too! 🙂

Wednesday we stayed home, but Ana had some things in mind for us as soon as we got up (you’ll see in the pics). 😉

Thursday (yesterday) we went downtown! Thursdays in G’ville’s beautiful downtown is Downtown Alive! Live music and local vendors on the street! It was great :). Not many vendors yesterday, but I’m sure as the season warms up there will be more and more! We also tried (and loved) another mexican restaurant, this one downtown (of course)!

Today (Friday) my grandma Pat and papaw Larry came down! Papaw cleaned up my yard (mowed and weed-eated), while mamaw put another perm in my hair! 🙂 (It was way overdue… both things!) And finally, tomorrow my in-laws are coming back down for more food and fun! 😀

Yep it’s been a great week, and it’s looking like a great weekend!

Hope your’s is fabulous too!  

{Hover over an image for a description}

 

Catching up… March 21, 2011

I know it’s be forever since I have posted, but we have been some sickies around here… I had a severe sinus infection and Joseph had a stomach bug {week before last}, and this past week I had to take Ana to the doctor and found out she has a bad ear infection in her right ear (due to cutting a molar) 😛 { blah}

So here is a little rundown of our doings here recently, via photos. 🙂 {Hover over the image to get a description.}

I should probably give a time line on this {lol}, and a little more description. 🙂 St Paddy’s day was the 17th (Thursday). The following day (Friday the 18th) I took Ana to her new doctor whom I LOVE, and afterward we went to Tony’s NY style pizzeria (my fav new italian/pizza place), thus the salad picture. Saturday the 19th, Joseph’s parents came to visit and the guys had guy time (basketball), and us girls went out on the town… only to get caught in a BIG storm (in which I later found out a tornado spawned from and touched down in Laurens, about 45 min from here!) No worries though, we found refuge in the mall! 😉

Family fun & FOOD!!!! March 12, 2011

Thankfully I am finally starting to feel human again!

Last night We went on a family fun date! I wanted Italian food SO bad {specifically a cannoli}, so we found a little italian restaurant and fell in love! This place was small, but authentic and the prices were unbelievably low! I decided on a small {actually quite large} greek salad and a slice of Sicilian pizza with spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes! Joseph got a small {read HUGE} calzone stuffed with onions, mushrooms, sausage and other things that I simply cannot remember, for Ana we chose baked ravioli, and to start us all off we tried their cheese bread!!!

You wouldn’t believe the food! Everything was beyond good…. I can’t begin to find an adjective to fit it… The cheese bread melted in our mouths, the marinara was perfect {and I am extremely picky about my marinara}, my Sicilian “slice” was huge and amazing {Sicilian pizza has focaccia crust), Joseph’s calzone was superb, and Ana’s raviolis were huge and delicious!!!

 Of course we had to have dessert! For Daddy and miss priss it was chocolate chip cookies, and for me it was cannolis!!!! Yes I said cannolis (plural). 😛 I intended on just getting one, but they just had to offer regular and chocolate covered cannoli shells… So I decided on one of each, but in the mini size… didn’t happen… they were out of mini chocolate cannolis and my sweet hubby (who got them at the counter while I waited at the table) didn’t want to bring me back one tiny cannoli! {Sometimes I think he wants me fluffy, lol} Long story short everything about our meal was FABULOUS!

Afterward we went to see Rango… We were not at all happy with this movie and wouldn’t advise anyone on seeing it. There was nothing to it for the first 30-45 minutes, and once it finally started (being interesting) I began hearing a word slipped in here and there… Not what I wanted out of a cartoon. It was also kind of scary to be a kids movie. If I had it to do over again I think we would have seen Gnomeo & Juliet

I think my favorite part of the movie was before it actually began. Ana turned around and looked at her daddy and said {so seriously} ” I wan pa-torn”… We both bust out laughing and our poor child just looked at us like she couldn’t believe we thought this was a laughing matter! Of course her daddy got her some “pa-torn” (after we made her say it a few more times and got all of our kicks in), which we wnjoyed with our cookies and cannolis that I snuck in via my big bag! (What? Concessions are outrageous these days!)

All in all it was a pretty good night, and I learned a valueable lesson, Always look up a movies reviews before going to see it…

Also this evening out broought back to the front of our minds the desire that we share to open our own Italian restaurant! My husbands family is Italian and I may as well be as much as I love the food! (We even named our restaurant! Sorry not sharing the name…) 😉

Here are a few pictures of food {like what we had}, and from the movie. (Sorry, this isn’t actually what we ate, I forgot to take pictures.)

Finally!!!

Cheese!!!

Something was funny…

Licking the salt from her lips! {hahaha}

The Magic of Food, Family & Love! March 11, 2011

Yesterday was a day from down under… and I’m not talking about Australia. It was one of those days when you wake up and feel awful and it just keeps getting worse.

Ana whined and I cried…This was our pattern for the day

I cried because I wasn’t feeling good, because I felt like I didn’t have anyone close by me (which I don’t), because I have been sick and just wanted a break. I cried because my house was (and still is) a wreck, because I don’t know anyone here, because I just felt like crying… See the pattern here? I, I, I, I, I…. Whaa, Whaaa, Whaaa! I was feeling sorry for myself, and a little depressed too. {Don’t judge me, you know you’ve done it too.}

After a while I managed to pull out of it a little (thanks to a sweet friend and sister in Christ, whom I called on for prayer). Somewhere around 1:30 pm I finally gout out of my pj’s, took a shower, and even blow dried my hair! (No small undertaking).

When my hubby got home he gave me a big hug, which always makes me feel better! He even said he was going to take me out (or should I say us, since we don’t have anyone to watch Ana)!… YAY YAY YAY YAY!!! This meant I was actually getting out of the house! Despite all of this the bad energy was still flowing, but the evening kept getting better, as did my mood.

Joseph was going to take me out, and to make it even better we were going downtown! My favorite place to go! 🙂

My Town!

I love this place! It just feels like home!

Joseph wanted to try a new restaurant, one that I had already been to and raved about! THE LAZY GOAT!!!!!

On our little 10 minute drive downtown Ana fell into a deep sleep! (Her only nap of the day at 4:30, turned out to be the best baby-sitter we could have asked for!) She actually slept through most of our meal!

About the restaurant:

The Lazy Goat is an eclectic, tapas style restaurant, specializing in Mediterranean cuisine. It is fab! {lol}

Our view to the left... a fun clock wall!

The view to my right... beauty!

A little further down the river...

A little further to the right...

 

This place is so much fun! As Ana’s slumber continued Joseph and I talked and laughed, and ATE!!! 🙂

As we sat and talked we couldn’t help but be taken in by this beautiful city that we now call home. We talked about why we love it here… the classy business people, the funky artistic edge, the outdoorsy-ness (yes it’s a word… now), how family friendly it is (note the family out for a stroll in the above picture). We love the character, and culture this city has to offer. Most of all we love that it’s perfect for us!

…back to the eating part!… We ordered a smorgasbord of yummy tapas!

 

Sorry… I forgot to snap before we dug in! 😉

 

This is the last of our delicious Fried Goat Cheese! These were warm, little pieces of heaven, deep-fried, dusted with ground pistachios and drizzled with honey!!!! 

Oh My Word!!!

 

Here we have the rest of our meal!

 Mediterranean Pimento Cheese (it will blow your mind!), is made with feta cheese and served with warm bread; Even Lazier Paella (in the molcajete), is a dish of roasted chicken, house made chorizo sausage, “bomba” rice,and sofrito broth; and Toasted Garlic Shrimp which features blistered tomatoes, feta, ouzo and arugula tossed with the best tasting shrimp you will ever eat!

Ana did eventually wake up and she was in a much better mood, as was I, she even ate… She actually devoured the rest of our Mediterranean pimento cheese! 

Our bellies were full and we were all ready to head home and finish out this great evening with some relaxation!

Taking it all for granted… March 8, 2011

As I sit at my computer and sip my coffee, barely being able to swallow, I think the same thing I do every time I get sick… “We take being healthy for granted”.

Just the simple act of breathing through my nose, can’t do it, being able to swallow without pain, can’t do it, being able to enjoy the tastes of the food I eat, can’t do it….

I am feeling so YUCKY!

But thankfully I know that “this too shall pass”, and I will once again be able to taste, smell, swallow, breathe and talk normally!

So that all being said I am just waiting around on Joseph to come home and take me to the doctor…. A place that I really dread going, because I know what’s coming… 😦

I’m sure they will do a flu test (aka an oversized q-tip being crammed up my nose into my sinus cavity), they will probably also do a strep test (gagging me while shoving yet another oversized q-tip down my throat), they will look up my nose, down my throat and in my ears, possibly even draw blood and who knows what else…

You know what, I think I am feeling better already! {lol}

Well I’m going to go do as little as possible and rest until my fun filled trip th thr Dr…

A Mother’s Prayer March 5, 2011

Today my mind was consumed… I can’t really put into words exactly by what. I guess the best way I can describe it was, that today was a deep day for me. Full of deep thought, deep emotions, and deep prayer…

My prayer life isn’t something I really share with anyone, but I hope that this will be a help to you.

Now before you get the wrong picture, I wasn’t kneeled down by my bed all day or laid out on the floor praying for hours. It was more so an, as it came type prayer, constantly being in a “prayer mode”. As I washed dishes, folded laundry, and did the other things I had to do, I prayed…

My heart just felt so heavy.

My prayer was something along these lines…

“Lord please help me. My hearts desire is to be a good wife and mother. I am striving to be a gentle, loving mom, and a gentle, loving wife. I know I fail every day, but I need your help. Please, help me to be the best person that I can be…..”

My prayers always trail off like this. I feel like I can’t get the words out right. Like saying them isn’t enough. For some reason my prayers can’t be finished with a simple “Amen”, instead I almost always go into a song, and the tears are never far behind. It never fails that somehow a song just comes to me and helps me along in my prayer.

Today was no different. I felt stuck like I had no more words and then, there it was. Ringing out in my head, then I heard myself singing it, then the tears began to flow… iI’s as if in the moment of breaking through my prayer into song that I have also broken through to heaven…

Here was my prayer song:

I don’t know if anyone else has this same prayer experience. I’ve actually never really thought much of it until today. I guess this is just the way I am. I love to sing so it really only makes sense that during the sacred practice of prayer, I sing to the one who gave me the ability to do so…

Here are a few verses on gentleness.

• “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2
• “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” Philippians 4:5
• “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12
• “As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.” 1 Thessalonians 2:7

I love the reference in this last verse… “like a mother caring for her little children”.

Being gentle requires patience, humility, kindness, and compassion. But most of all it requires love. What other type of love should be more gentle than that of a wife and mother?

Do you have the same or similar experience as mine when it comes to prayer? 

Leave a comment below…