Friend Makin Monday

Yes everyone, it is Monday again. It is killing me how fast these weeks are going by. Anyways, since it is Monday, it is Friend Makin Monday again. This week, Amber (aefilkins) asks "If life were a movie, which movie would you want to live in?"



Now, I've looked around at other people who take part in FMM and like many of the others, I couldnt come up with an easy answer. After giving it a bit of thought, I decided to go with





I mean seriously... Who wouldn't want to live in the 70's with an amazing soundtrack? You'd get to listen to tunes like Slow Ride, by

Schools Out by the Amazing

and Tuesdays Gone by the one and only



Not only is the soundtrack amazing, but the way these kids lived it up and didn't have a care in the world except for going to the concert.



Now, would I be as much of a smoker as these kids? No, probably not.... but I love their attitudes, the close friendships that they all had and how much fun they had as a group! Oh, and I think i'd like to be David Wooderson's girlfriend. She'd be a new roll in the movie. He would not have as much interest in Cynthia because he'd be too busy being focused on ME! hahah! I mean come on, who would not want to play Matthew McConaughey's girlfriend??

Friend Makin Monday

Yes, it is that time again where Amber (aefilkins) does her weekly friend makin monday. Today, her question is : What makes you happy?

I suppose there are a TON of different ways I could answer this question. I mean, sleeping in makes me happy, pedicures, chocolate, etc. etc. etc. But honestly, those are just things that temporarily make me happy. After giving it about 2 seconds thought, I decided that these things make me happy.

1. My husband

2. My amazing little boys; Chad, Kaleb, Christian and William

3. My wonderful family


4. My BEST friends


Some of you might think that this is a pretty lame list, but honestly... they are the only things constant in my life. There are some days that someone in my family, or my husband or one of my friends might make me mad, but they are ALWAYS there for me...

So that is my list..... Now I ask the question of you... What makes YOU happy?

Day Zero Project

So I've been very interested in reading other peoples blogs lately and noticed that a few girls from the Phoenix Nest board started doing the 101 things in 1001 days blog. This was started a while ago by Triplux. Anyways, before I get too off track, the girls (Julie, Jaye, Kirstin and Shelly) inspired me to create my own list of things to do. So here we go...

The Mission: The Mission:Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific ( ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 101 Days?: Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

I'm putting my start date as October 16th, 2009 which makes my end date July 13th, 2012.

And here is my list:

Family
1. Bake a cake for each Family Members birthday (0/6)
2. Celebrate each family members birthday on its very own day (0/6)
3. Take a family vacation to Disneyland
4. Make each family member a dinner of their total and complete choice 3 times each (2/18)
5. Buy 30 new books for the kids (2/30)
6. Have a family Yard Sale and donate the money to homeless children in AZ
7. Recycle more as a family
8. Bring in a new family member (a puppy)
9. Get passports for all the boys (0/4)
10. Update my passport
11. Throw a fabulous Halloween party

Financial/Legal
12. Have $1000 in Personal Savings
13. Have $2000 in Personal Savings
14. Pay off our Durango so I can trade it for a new truck
15. Pay off bad debt so we can purchase a house
16. Begin the house buying process
17. Get our Will in order
18. Set up a savings account for all 4 boys here in AZ (0/4)
19. Set up a trust fund for the boys in case something should happen
20. Change our banks over from a NH bank to an AZ bank

Personal
21. Go to individual counseling
22. Go to marriage / family counseling
23. Blog 1 time a week for 143 weeks (3/143)
24. "Follow" at least 20 new bloggers (4/20)
25. Have 30 people follow me (13/30)
26. Forgive 5 people who have hurt me (0/5)
27. Find a church to go to, and get involved in it
28. Volunteer for school events
29. Change my hairstyle... completely
30. Go to bed by 10PM one week a month (0/32)
31. Get a new tattoo
32. Treat myself to 4 spa days (0/4)
33. Get 12 pedicures (0/12)
34. Dye my hair a new fun color
35. Laugh when I feel like crying

Physical
36. Lose 15lbs
37. Lose 30lbs
38. Lose 45lbs
39. Go to the gym 2x week for 8 weeks (0/16)
40. Go for a walk with the boys 1x a week for 20 weeks (2/20)
41. Enforce the No more babies rule by making sure one of us is "fixed"
42. Lose 4 sizes in my jeans (0/4)
43. Tone up my arms
44. Find a doctor here for myself
45. Find out why I have migraines every single day


Household
46. Paint the walls in the boys room
47. Finish unpacking
48. Get some art for the walls
49. Clean the garage out with help of my family
50. Go through all the boys toys and get rid of the ones they don't play with anymore
51. Put our bed up on rails so it doesn't look ghetto in our room.
52. Buy new couches
53. Buy a new bed
54. Turn the empty room into a home gym
55. Replace the ceiling fan in our bedroom
56. Replace the ceiling fan in Wills bedroom

Organizing
57. Buy a file folder for all our bills
58. Get plastic bins for all of our seasonal clothes and put them away
59. Get dresser's for Kaleb and Christian's room
60. Get a bookshelf for all of our books
61. Get a coupon holder and put my coupons in them
62. Clean out the junk drawer

Friendships
63. Make 3 new friends in Arizona (0/3)
64. Talk to my friends back east at least once a week for 143 weeks (3/143)
65. Go to NY over Memorial Day Weekend two times (0/2)
66. Go out to dinner with just the "girls once a month (0/32)
67. Let 3 "friends" go (1/3)"
68. Go out of my way to surprise a friend with something he/she has always wanted
69. Go to Vegas with a group of friends

Travel
70. Go somewhere for a weekend, that we've never gone before (instate)
71. Go somewhere for a weekend that we have not gone before (out of state)
72. Drive to California
73. Drive to Colorado
74. Pay for a friend to come visit me in AZ
75. Take two vacations to New England in 2 years (0/2)
76. Get a new bike and ride it to new places

Food/Cooking
77. Eat at 20 new restaurants (0/20)
78. Create 20 new recipes for the family to enjoy (1/20)
79. Find a food blog every week and post a delish recipe from it on my blog (1/143)
80. Try 20 new foods (1/20)
81. Bake a cake for a friend
82. Bake cookies for a friend
83. Host 5 dinner parties (1/5)
84. Host a murder mystery dinner
85. Get a new "expensive" set of cookware
86. Find a wine I actually like
87. Have a wine tasting party
88. BBQ every night for a week (0/5)
89. Make a meal plan every week (3/143)

Misc
90. Pay for the car behind me in the drive through lane
91. Decorate for the holidays better
92. Adopt a Christmas family
93. Set up a fundraiser for Thanksgiving for a family in need
94. Walk in the breast cancer walk for a cure
95. Tell my husband I love him every day (24/1001)
96. Go see 5 bands live (0/5)
97. See 3 bands that I've never seen before play live (0/3)
98. Don't touch my laptop or cell phone for a week
99. Write on a public restroom wall
100. Thank a soldier for an amazing job that they've done
101. Send a message in a bottle (in the ocean)

BONUS
~Inspire 5 people to make their own list (1/5)

So, that is my list of 101 things to do. I hope that I can get them done. Wish me luck and feel free to follow along in my adventure. I will update this list as often as I accomplish something.

Friend Making Monday

So today is Friend Making Monday. I missed last weeks assignment because I had a ton of stuff going on, so I am back on track to try to keep up with her.

This week, Amber - from a.e.filkins wants to know what you are going to be for Halloween. Well, I am not going to be a whole lot of anything... but the boys are dressing up. So far Will is the only one who has a costume.

Here are my boys last year. I had quite the little show going on. Chad was ummm a Grim Reaper type of thing? Help? Christian was Spiderman, William was a Caterpillar and Kaleb was Indiana Jones.

This year, William is the only one who has his costume so far. Here he is....

Yep. He is going to be the cutest little pug, EVER! Chad has NO IDEA what he wants to be. Kaleb either wants to be Darth Vador, a Jedi Trooper or a Clone Trooper. Christian is going to be a Transformer, but has no idea which one. I"ll post pictures as soon as he gets his costume!

Now... What are you going to be?

Weekend in a Nutshell

So we had quite the weekend in the Momma V house. It started off very slow with movies and relaxing on the couch. That quickly turned into laundry and dishes and picking up after my little Tornado (better known as William). And all of this was just on Saturday.

On Sunday, we watched a lot of fooball. I was happy to see that the Patriots lost to the Broncos. Nothing better then picking on my husband when his football team fails! But, he is the first to say something when the Colts or the Giants aren't playing the way they should. I guess I did not have to hear all that much from him this weekend as both of my teams went 5-0!

After the game, we went to the park. William LOVES the parks here. It was a beautiful Sunny (but when is it not sunny in AZ) day. I think it was in the mid 80's. Everyone had a blast.

After the park was done, we went to BRU and got Will a few new things. He had a gift card from his birthday and we figured why not. Then when we got home, we had the most amazing dinner. I had put a pork loin in the crockpot in the morning with some BBQ stuff. Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Roasted Red Ranch Potatoes... WOW!!! If that isnt orgasmic, then I dont know what is...

Here is the recipe..

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder roast, well trimmed
1 package McCormick® Slow Cookers BBQ Pulled Pork Seasoning
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS
1. Place pork in slow cooker. Mix Seasoning, ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar until blended. Pour over pork. Cover.

2. Cook 8 hours on LOW or 4 hours on HIGH. Remove pork from slow cooker.

3. Shred pork, using 2 forks. Return pork to slow cooker. Mix and heat with sauce before serving. Serve on sandwich rolls, if desired.

Tips
Test Kitchen Tip: Use 3 pounds boneless pork loin roast in place of the pork shoulder roast.

Slow Cooker Tip: For best results, do not remove cover during cooking.

And for the roasted potatos.... SIMPLE

1 package of hidden valley Ranch
1/4th cup Veg. Oil
2lbs small red potatos - quartered

Shake Well, bake at 450 for 35 minutes..

Tonights dinner...... Stuffed Shells! I'll try to take some pictures in the assembly process! They are fantastic and delish!

I know I said I would... but I still haven't decided

Ok... so here it is. Monday night. I am still thinking on if I really want to put the effort into a NEW blog for just my cooking. Part of me says, who on earth wants to read about me and my cooking? How it turned out? What I did wrong? What I did different? Anyone? But on that same note, what is the point of dedicating a WHOLE blog to cooking if I am not even sure anybody is going to read it. See the circle? It goes around and around and around....

So, since I dont have any decisions yet, I will just continue to post things here. Both cooking and not cooking.

Tonight, I made Spaghetti and meatballs. And the meatballs were from a bag, so there is nothing to blog about there. BUT, for dessert I made caramel apple bars (thanks to Nichole's recipe). I must toot my own horn when I say that they came out AMAZING! I wish I would have taken pictures along the way. Kind of a step by step process. The end result was AMAZING! I used a little more caramel then the recipe calls for. I also put in a tad bit more brown sugar. The whole family loved it. Even Will enjoyed a bite or two. Two major thumbs up for mommy! Here is Nicholes recipe.. Enjoy!

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats ( I used the old fashioned and it turned out fine!)
1 teaspoon salt (You may want to cut this in half, I thought there was a little too much in the end)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 1/2 cups coarsely chopped, peeled tart apples (3-4 medium)
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 bag (14oz) caramels

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Mix brown sugar, butter and shortening in a large bowl.
3. Stir in flour, oats, salt and baking soda. Set 2 cups of this mixture aside.
4. Press the rest of the oat mixture in an ungreased 13x9x2 pan.
5.Toss apples in 3 Tablespoons of flour and spread over the mixture in the pan.
6. Heat caramels over low heat, stir occasionally.
7. Once melted, pour evenly over the apples.
8. Sprinkle with the remaining oat mixture.
9. Bake for 25-30 min, or until topping is golden brown and the apples are tender.
10. Enjoy with some vanilla ice cream while warm....YUMMY!

Time to cook?

For a while, I've been thinking of starting a cooking blog. As Will is getting older, I've been trying a more "crazier" approach to the cooking at night. Our meals have been changing and the family has been loving it.

So the question now, is do I start a new blog, or do i just kind of transform this one? I dont think i'll blog enough about my personal life to keep interest but I cook every day. Maybe I can combine the two together? Check back with me before the weekend and I'll be sure to have an answer for you.

xoxo
-momma v