End of the school year and opening day of travel ball

Awards Day with friends and tons of academic awards were given to Gracie and Wyatt... So proud of these kiddos!!

Field Day for 2012-2013 school year. They had so much fun and Jake's team won the events for the day.

Travel ball season has started!!! Wyatt plays catcher. 

It's been a long day with back to back games but he is still hanging tight and doing his thing!

I am one of those moms that screams and yells and yes probably embarrasses my kid but I think he would also think something was wrong if I didn't act like a fool at the games...hehe! 

Easy stuffed shells recipe

I came across this recipe in one of my recipe boxes and thought it was time to try it on the fam:). I couldn't believe how easy and good it was.
Ingredients you will need:
Box of large shell pasta
2lbs ground beef or ground turkey
Spaghetti sauce seasoning packet
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups cottage cheese
1tbsp dry Italian seasoning
13x9 baking dish

Cook pasta according to the box instructions... Usually 10-12 minutes
While pasta is cooking ....
Brown ground beef (or turkey) in a skillet
And drain off all grease when meat is cooked all of the way through.
To the ground beef add spaghetti seasoning packet and jar of spaghetti sauce.
While spaghetti sauce is simmering on the stove... In a bowl mix together shredded cheese and cottage cheese and Italian seasoning.
Drain pasta and rinse with cool water... This helps with handling the noodles.

In the baking dish put enough sauce in the bottom to make a bed or the shells to lay in.
In each shell put a tablespoon of meat sauce and tablespoon of the cheese mixture. Lay the stuffed shells in the baking dish. Once all of the shells are stuffed and in the baking dish top them with the remaining sauce and a handful of shredded mozzarella cheese.
Bake at 350 for 25 mins and enjoy!

Easy prep and the kids will love to help stuff the shells:).

Country Gal visits the Windy City

Hi yall! I know it's been a while since I've blogged but its been extremely busy around here. We have been trying to get the new store ready to open and last week Gracie an I went to Chicago for a school trip.
We had such a great three days in the Windy City. We experienced city life to its fullest! The group that we went with know how to laugh a lot and make exhaustion fun!
Our trip started with a 5 AM flight on Wednesday with 22 people in our group. We landed and retrieved our luggage and hopped on the L train to our hotel. ( what an experience on the L... Lets just say we got the true big city experience!)
We had enough time to drop off our luggage and off we went. Our first stop was the Willis Tower, only to find out that we still had an hour before it opened for tours. So, we all decided to stop in at a coffee shop to caffeine up for the day ahead.
Once we were at the Willis Tower, we ride the elevator to the 103rd floor to look out on the city. What a sight! Beautiful! The Tower has what they call the Skydeck which has a section that has glass fliers and walls. Gracie braved her fear of heights and went out so I could snap a quick picture of her with the city behind her and below her...lol!
We also had the opportunity to visit the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. It was very interesting and we were able to grab a couple of bags of shredded money to bring back home with us.
Next stop on our big city adventure was to grab us some art culture at the Art Institute of Chicago. I have to say there was some amazing art but there was some art that I looked at and thought, "Really,that's art!" For instance, a blank canvas that had been framed and a huge dead tree branch.... Really?! We all got a big laugh out of it anyway:).
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped and took some hilarious pics at the mirrored bean. I have to say, the mirrored bean was impressive to this country gal:).
We got back to the hotel via L train again and got to rest for about an hour and then headed to the Greek Islands restaurant for dinner. The food was very different and I'm glad that I got to try some different cuisine but I've learned that I'm not a big fan of Greek food( sorry to those out there who are fans of Greek food). Finally, we make our trek back to hotel in 3 degree weather.... Freezing!!!!! We all passed out after a very long and full day!
The next day we were up early again to explore more of the city and our first stop was Field Museum. It was very interesting but we didn't have enough time to see everything. After the Field Museum, we travelled public transportation again, to see Blue Man Group. Those three men were AMAZING!!!!!! I have to say that was my favorite thing we did the whole trip... (Well other then visiting the Ghirardelli store on Michigan Ave.). If you haven't seen the Blue Man Group... You must go and check them out!!!!!
That evening we visited the Hershey store and Macy's on Michigan Avenue and then went to Gino's for some Chicago style pizza:). Yummy!
The last day was an early start again. We visited the Shedd Aquarium and the Science and Industry Museum. By the time we got to Science and Industry we were all so tired we didn't get to see a lot of the exhibits.
We hopped or should I say slowly moved to get on our plane home and touched Kentucky soil a little after midnight.
We had three adventure filled days in the Windy City and loved every exhausted moment of it. I have decided that I want to go back to Chicago again... But this time to shop at all of the wonderful stores that I saw:). I see a girls trip to Chicago in my very near future:)!

Happy St Patricks Day

Happy St Pattys Day everyone? Are you wearing your green? I hope so... Otherwise you will get pinched...ha!
I thought I would post some pics of some of my fav things that are green:).
I love limes... They are sour and remind me of a tropical place every time I get the smell if the juice.
I love the green grass on our farm because that means that spring is almost here... That's our horse Sarah:).
I love green apples...they are tart and taste soooo good in an apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
And I love this huge tree that is in a park near our farm. The kids love it too because they can climb in and up it. It's soooo beautiful.

What are some of your fav things that are green?

New beginnings

My sister-in-law has a home consignment store here in town. We are moving it to a bigger and better location! It has been so much work, but it will be worth it.
When we walked in this space it looked like someone had vomited Pepto Bismol(sorry everyone who likes that color). Every where we turned it was this horrific shade of pink and then it was trimmed out in an electric blue plastic border...it was horrible!!!!!
We went in and in two days got the whole thing painted in a beautiful light gray shade with charcoal and aqua accents... Can I just say beautiful!
We are now in the process of working on the layout of the new store and moving some small stuff from the old location.
We have accomplished so much in a short time and I look forward to keeping you up on the progress as we get closer and closer to our "new beginning".

Rainy Day on the Farm

You know that song, "It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring."
Well, around here on the farm, there is no one snoring even though it's pouring rain.

The cows still need to be fed and chores still need to be done. We are so blessed to have some guys that help us out so that we can get everything done. They are the BEST!!!!!

Maybe, one of these rainy days we will be able to be like the old man and snore all day and listen to the rain fall on our metal roof (which is one of my favorite sounds, by the way)....

 

Who am I kidding??????

There is always stuff to do........

 

 

What do you enjoy doing on a rainy day? I would love to hear how you spend your rainy days....

A Tribute to My Mom and Wedding Attire

My mom is getting married this weekend! It's going to be a small gathering with family and very close friends. I'm very excited!

My mom is such a wonderful lady and has always shown me unconditional love....even through my teenage years, when I'm sure I wasn't so lovable. She is funny, and full of life. I have learned so much from watching her live her life and from the long "talks" that she has given me as I have been growing up. ( I am still growing up even in my thirties...lol) Even though I am 34 years old, I will never outgrow needing my mother or her feeling like I am still a little girl.

She has asked me to be her Matron of Honor and stand with her as she marries her love. My daughter and I went with her to pick out her dress and it looks beautiful on her. It is navy blue and silver, with a little bling on the jacket. The wedding is casual and not at all what people might think a typical wedding should be.

This is my outfit that I have chosen to wear to the wedding. I purchased it at Dillard's and both pieces were on sale!!!!! Love it when that happens..LOL!

The dress is from Catch My i and was $34.00. The jacket is from Soulmates and was $44.00.
I love the casualness of this outfit for everday wear, but I can still dress it up with accesories for a date night with my hubby.


Spending time with my family is always how i love to spend my weekends, but add my mom's wedding in there and it's going to be a great weekend!

A wedding and Summer Fiesta Salad

Good Afternoon y'all!

My week has been crazy! How about yours? My mom is getting married this weekend and she asked me to prepare the food for the reception. One of the dishes she loves is my Summer Fiesta Salad. The reason I call it that is because I usually only fix it in the summertime when all of the vegetables are in season....but...she asked for it, so she's getting it:)!



My beautiful mom!

Salad Ingredients:
4 to 6 ears or 1 bag of frozen Yellow Corn....you can either use corn on the cob or frozen corn. When I make this in the summertime, I want will go to my local farmers market and get fresh corn on the cob and grill it and then cut it off. Love the flavor the grilling gives the whole dish!
1 can Black Beans..rinsed and drained
2 Tablespoons finely chopped Cilantro
3 to 4 Tomatoes..diced
2 to 3 Limes

Dressing ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
1 Heaping Tablespoon Cumin
Juice from the limes

In a large bowl, add the corn, black beans, diced tomatoes, finely chopped cilantro and the zest of the limes. In a seperate bowl, add the balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, cumin, and the juice from the limes you zested for the salad. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Then pour on the salad ingredients and mix.

My whole family loves this salad and I hope yours will too! It's a must try!!!!! After you fix this , let me know what you think!

I will post and blog about the wedding next week, so make sure to come back and see how the wedding went!

DIY Haircolor

I've been asked to do a post on doing your own haircolor, so here it is!  I have been coloring my own hair for years now. My grandmother was a hairdresser and taught my mom and me all of the tricks of the trade. She used to perm my hair and color my hair while cooking dinner in our kitchen. She was a great woman and a master at her craft.
As I was growing up, I remember my hair being all of the colors of the rainbow, well, except maybe purple.... I loved and still do love trying new colors and new styles. My hair has been so long it touched the top of my bottom, to so short that I could spike it up and every length in between. I have had red hair, brown with highlights, my natural dirty blonde, and platinum...which is what it is right now.My hubby likes it when its sort of short and blonde, the lighter the better, in his opinion.

Over the years, I have found out a few things through mistakes I've made and I'm sure that as I continue to color my own hair I will find a few more things out....but the basic coloring techniques will never change.

My grandmother taught me that if you are doing all over color from a drugstore brand that you need to pick 1 to 2 shades darker than what you want your color to be....especially blonde colors. Blonde colors tend to either be to green or to yellow. The green color you may see is where the color contains an ash base. I tend to stay away from ash based colors because I don't like the greenish undertone it turns my hair. If you don't leave the color on to long, it can turn brassy or yellow so make sure you leave it on long enough to cut through this stage in the coloring process.

Brunettes...when picking a shade of brown make sure you pick one that will compliment your skin tone. If you have a paler complexion...you might want to go to a deeper shade with red undertones. If you have a darker, more tan, complexion, you might want to choose a chesnut color with a few golden highlights.

Red heads...I have been a red head before, but I have always let my hair stylist do it. Red makes me a little nervous....knowing my luck I would be orange instead of a beautiful shade of red. My suggestion would be to stick with a hair colorist that you like and trust and knows your coloring history.

I have highlighted my own hair for years and have found that I prefer the L'Oreal brand for my hair, but this is something you will have to try for yourself to see what brand works best for you.  That brand just works well with the texture of my hair and is very forgiving in the application. I always follow the instructions in the box and if I ever have any questions I have found the helpline numbers they give you really does help.

I'm not an expert by any means, so please don't hold me to any standard, but I hope this has helped you to determine if you want to attempt to color your own hair or stay with your colorist. I know sometimes it can be hard to find time to go get your hair colored, with all of the demands that us women go through on a daily basis. Saying that...I also enjoy going and having my hair done...it gives me some time to myself and to chat with other women in the salon and to treat myself.

No matter what...I always have fun with my hair and realize that it can always be fixed if I goof it up.

My girl

Our daughter Gracie is our first born and she will be turning 13 in a month. Where have the years gone?
She is such a blessing and wonderful addition to our family. I don't know what I would do without her... she keeps me on my toes and nothing slips past her.
The other day, we went shopping with my mom and she kept us in stitches with her comments on the clothes and accessories we saw in the stores. She is the type of girl that if its not comfy she doesn't wear it.
I love that girl so much! I just can't believe that she is going to be a teenager, but knowing her, she will handle it with grace and maturity... (I don't know if I am ready for it though....)

Do any of you have any tips on raising a teenage girl and making it through the early teenage years?
I know I could sure use the guidance and help...lol

Mama's Boys

 

Wyatt loves to chill and watch TV and play video games but also loves playing baseball. When he steps on that field he is all business and such a pleasure to watch play. Yes, I am one of those moms that screams and yells and cheers as loud as I can...but he says he doesn't mind...

I love my boys!!!! Just look at those precious faces:)! They fill my life with so much joy. They are 17 months apart and we raised them like twins. They are always together and rely on each other. I hope that continue that relationship as they grow into men and raise families of their own. They are each others best friend. We are so blessed to have these precious boys in our life!

Jake is full of life! He loves working around the farm with his daddy and hugging me every chance he gets. We never know what he is going to say...so sometines I am sitting on pins and needles when he talks because I just never know...lol.

baked apples

My family loves baked apples! I usually fix them with a honey- brown sugar glazed ham and mashed potatoes and biscuits. Whenever someone asks my kids what their favorite food is they describe this whole meal, not just one thing...makes me smile:).
My baked apples recipe is extremely easy and can be made in advance and refridgerated or cooked in the crock pot.

HERE ARE THE INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED:
6 Granny Smith apples....they are tart and go well with the sweetness of the spices
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1tsp. cinnamom
1tsp. apple pie spice
1tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 packed brown sugar (light or dark...whatever you have in your pantry)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
zest of 1 orange and the juice (optional)

Peel, dice and core all of the apples. I usually leave a little bit of the peel on for the nutrients.
Add the flour, all of the spices, brown sugar and butter to the bowl. Mix until all of the apples are well coated.
Put into a baking dish and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 mins covered with foil. remove the foil and bake an additional 10 mins uncovered.

You can alos do this in a crock pot, as I said earlier, and if you decide to cook them this way, follow all of the steps above just put it in the crock pot and cook on low for 2-3 hours.


I hope y'all enjoy!

 

Baked spaghetti

My family loves pasta! Over the years I have had to come up with different pasta dishes to satisfy my family's love of noodles...
This baked spaghetti is quick and easy and will feed an army.
This is what you will need:

1-2lbs ground beef
Dried Italian seasoning
Packet of spaghetti sauce seasoning
2-16oz cans of tomato sauce
Grated cheddar cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese
1 box of spaghetti noodles

Brown ground beef with 1tbsp of dried Italian seasoning in a skillet. Drain.
Add packet of spaghetti seasoning and tomato sauce and mix all together on medium heat.
While your meat sauce is simmering to meld all of the flavors together, boil your spaghetti noodles in salty water. This is the only time you will have to season your noodles so make sure you salt the water well. (It should smell like the ocean) cook the noodles about 12 mins... They should be al dente.
Drain noodles.
Mix noddles into the meat sauce mixture and put it in a casserole dish.
Top with shredded cheddar cheese and shredded Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. The cheese will be melted and bubbly:).

Your family will love this delicious, inexpensive meal! It's a must try!!!!!

Giveaway

Ok all.... It's time for a giveaway!!!!!

Yesterday, I posted about a face/ body scrub that I love and now I want to give away 2 bottles of all natural honey!

Just post in the comments if you are interested and I will randomly pick a person and announce the winner Thursday morning:).