Somewhere, Out There

That is exactly where I have been, somewhere, out there. I have been catching myself coming and going these days. Brian has returned to work full time, but not full duty. He is still having dizzy spells and is still on his blood thinners. In addition, he had to go back on his seizure meds since the tests show that he is still having abnormal activity. The doctors decided to do another CT scan since he has been having chest pain. They didn't find any MORE blood clots, but they have discovered damage to his esophagus and his heart. They did an upper GI yesterday to look at his esophagus yesterday, he is more nervous about this test than I have ever seen him.. I think some of the questions he was being asked made him a little uneasy. They won't do another scan on his heart for 6 months, so that is the one that has me a little nervous. Other than these new issues, he is doing really well. They facial paralysis is doing so much better! He smiled the other day and I hardly noticed where he has had so much drooping. I am ever so proud of him for the HUGE strides he has made and the positive attitude that he has maintained through this whole ordeal!

On another note, I registered for my summer and fall classes last week. I am trusting that this was the right thing to do. I know he is doing really well, but there are still a lot of dr. appointments and blood draws. I am only taking two classes this summer to try and get myself back in gear for classes. Unfortunally, I choose some of my hardest classes. I am FINALLY taking college algebra (bring it on!) as well as Psychology of the classroom. I am in need of a refressher course for algebra, but I know I need to take it when I don't have as many classes to focus on. I also like taking it in the summer because then I am in class four days a week and I don't seem to forget as much.

I must start my laundry, as my days tend to slip by so easily these days...

Update!!

In posting all my fun organizational stuff, I just realized I have forgotten to give an update on Brian!! So sorry!! He is doing wonderful these days. Last Monday he started back to work part-time (4 hours a day). He can't drive yet, so I take him down and get to work on projects, like my recipes! He is very excited because they chose to teach him how to run the light board. Lighting is really where his heart is at, and it is a blessing to see him so happy. The Lord said go, and we took that step of faith, and he is rewarding us beyond measure! Brian even ran the sound board for a little bit last week when the sound technician needed to check some monitors. His stress level has been reduced by leaps and bounds.

THE LORD IS SOOOOOO GOOD!!!

Brian also started his rehab last week. He is going 3 days a week for two hours each time and finished pretty sore. The are mostly working his calves and back, muscles that started to atrophy when he was bedridden. I am amazed every day by his progress and his strong, sweet spirit. He personality has changed very little (Praise the Lord!) and his facial paralysis has almost completely reversed itself.

I have to confess that in the first few days of his accident even though I didn't know what to expect, this wasn't it. I never thought his progress would be this good, this fast, but he has been very determined. I am blessed to have such a wonderful hubby!

Thank you all for your wonderful thoughts and prayers, he is a walking miracle!

Finding Old Favorites

Cleaning out my recipes, I found many old favorites that I hadn't made in a long time. I decided that one of these just couldn't wait any longer. My granny used to make different "goodies" each Christmas, and her Almond Bark Candy is one of my favorites!!

You will need:
1 1/2 lb of Almond Bark
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 c. dry roasted peanuts
1 1/2 c. mini marshmallows
3 c. rice krispys

Melt the almond bark and peanut butter in a large sauce pan on the stove. Mix and let cook slightly.

Mix the other ingredients together and once almond bark and peanut butter has cooled slightly, stir in until well combined. Make sure that it is cool enough not to melt the marshmallows, but not so cool you can't mix it together.


Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on wax paper and let cool completely. ENJOY!!

I am so thankful that I had this experience to get myself organized! I have had the desire to do it for quite a while, but I just needed the motivation! What is next?? Can you believe I started my Christmas presents today?

Recipe Clean Up!

How fun!!! I spent this month working on my recipes and getting them organized, and WOW! I was able to get rid of ones I never use, share recipes with friends and even use my creative side! First I tackled Brian and I's favorite recipes, quiche. We like them so much, that I decided to make a cookbook dedicated just to quiche.














This is a Close to My Heart 9x9 scrapbook that I made in a class. I had never done anything with it, but this is the perfect opportunity!!















I divided the cookbook into different categories based on the main ingredient and scrapbooked the recipe and a picture of the finished product. Since it is a scrapbook, I have lots of room to expand!















After I made our quiche book, I decided to tackle the recipe box. I dumped all my recipes out and started sifting through what I wanted.

I then took all my recipes and rewrote them on matching cards. I have lots of extra so, once again, any future recipes will match. I then put them into the correct categories and alphabetized the categories. The cards I bought had extra tabs, so I made categories of my own such as drinks, spices and even a tab for all my recipes that can be made in a mug!

I filed them in my Longaberger recipe box that has a lip on the top to make it easy to read whatever I am making at the time! Yes, my recipes are also Longaberger, BUT I just loved the daisies!! My basket is clean and concise, fits on the counter easily and even has a lid, that fits, to keep the dust and food particles clean.

I didn't think it necessary to take another picture of the cabinet. I removed all my cookbooks and put them back in depending on main ingredients and topic. I removed the extra stuff sitting on the shelves, and distinguished the categories by tabs. I will admit that I love organization a little too much, but now that it is done, it will be easy to keep up! Best of luck to everyone else in their organizational challenges! I can't wait to find out what next month's challenge is!

Starting to get organized

I realized the other day that I hadn't taken pictures of what I was doing to get my recipes organized, so I did that tonight..

Here is my cabinet of Pillsbury cookbooks - one of my favoritesHere is my pathetic attempt of keeping a recipe boxAs you can see I have printed recipes stuck everywhere

Recipes are a true passion of mine, so I joined an organizational group to get mine organized. I have them stuck everywhere, as you can see. I am working on this with a group on the Organizing Junkies blog. Feel free to jump in, and if you want some great tips and techniques, this is the blog to go to! Have fun and I will keep you posted on my progress!

Dinner and a Movie

I figured my hubby and I had reason to celebrate tonight... He is getting to go back to work on Monday. Scary I know, but something I am dealing with. Anyway, I had a Chicken helper in the cabinet that I had decided to fix, and I also knew that I had an abundance of potatoes in the house. I decided to make potatoes graten and a fun 5 minute mug cake recipe that I had received from my sister. She sells Longaberger, which their pottery is oven, microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe, so I thought, why not! We don't keep sweets in the house since I would eat them if they were here, and this makes one mug at a time - win-win situation..

As I was finishing dinner I thought we might put a movie in and get out some of the "good stuff". In our house, the good stuff is juice from the Post Families Winery in Arkansas. Very Yummy - our favorite is the Altus and the Muscadine. I even got out the stemware! We watched Diffidently, Maybe and cuddled on the couch.

It was a great, cheap night and we did it all at home. I thought it might be fun to share some of these mug recipes that I have... another thing I need to get organized!

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake (more like a brownie)
4 T. Sugar
4T. all-purpose flour
2 T. cocoa
1 Egg
3 T. Milk
3 T. oil
3 T. Chocolate Chips, optional
Small splash of Vanilla

Add dry ingredients to a mug and mix well.
Add egg and mix thoroughly
Pour in milk and oil and mix well again
Add the chocolate chips, if using, and vanilla and mix for the last time.

Put in microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but it is okay. Allow to cool a little - we like ours with vanilla ice cream!

Hope you enjoy this fun little recipe.. I will post the other mug recipes that I have in the coming weeks!

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Brian and I had a beautiful evening... he took me to the Gilloiz for a big screen showing of Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn. She is my favorite and I loved seeing her on the big screen. We went with our very good friends Mark and Andrea. It was both of their first times to see this wonderful romance. We had a great time, but an even better one listening to the woman behind us.. she was laughing so loud and having such a good time! It was a great evening!

After we took this picture Brian informed us that the girl that took it was the one that had been laughing throughout the movie! What a funny turn of events!

Happy Valentine's to All and to all a good night!