It's Starting to Feel Like Autumn

It's beginning to feel like autumn outside, and I LOVE it! I absolutely love everything about fall...an end to the August heat, the colors of the leaves on the trees, the feel of jeans and a light jacket, Halloween...I really could keep on going. For some reason, I feel like this picture I took of Hoosier this weekend kind of sums it all up (I think it was the whole wheelbarrow thing)...

He didn't really know what to think. When Don first put him in, I thought for sure he'd make a break for it as quickly as possible. However, I don't think he really knew what to do so he just sat there, looking down. Here's another one with his daddy...

Here's to wishing everyone a happy start to Autumn (even though I'm officially about 3 weeks ahead of schedule)!

Landscaping Extravaganza Day 2

Well, we started all over again this morning. We weeded, raked, had a bonfire and sprayed weed and bug killer. We are finally done (well, except for the planting new stuff part)!

Here's the back of the house BEFORE (again with the ugly evergreen shrubs)...

And here's the back of the house AFTER (no more weeds or trees)...

Up next...the jungle we call our backyard.

Landscaping Extravaganza Day 1

Today began our landscaping adventure. When we bought our house in April, no one had lived in it for close to 9 months. Therefore, the wooded lot looked more like a jungle of weeds than anything else. Well, we finally got around to cleaning things up today (a Herculean effort when you look at our jam-packed calendar). We made a lot of progress but still have a LONG way to go. Here are a few before and after pictures (please don't judge us!).

The front of the house BEFORE (lots of ugly, half dead evergreen shrubs and weeds)...

Front of house AFTER (goodbye weeds in front of chimney and deadest evergreen...I'm still working on convincing Don to just take them all out)...

I'm embarrassed to even post this picture. This is the side of our house BEFORE (have you ever seen so many weeds??)...

Side of house AFTER (ahhh, we can actually see out our bedroom window and as a bonus, we'll get to have a bonfire with all the wood we chopped down)...

See all the wood around the hot tub? Well, it's gone now...just dirt and grass seed. I still haven't figured out why someone would put pieces of wood around 3 sides of a hot tub but leave 3 feet of grass on each side. Hello, a riding mower does not fit!

Goodbye ugly 50 year old bird bath! Sorry birds...you'll have to wash up in someone else's yard!

Well, what a day (and that was only the beginning)! I can't feel my hands, arms or legs and Don's hand is swollen like a balloon from a bee sting, but we'll be up early tomorrow morning to keep on going! Check back tomorrow night for pictures from Day 2 of our Landscaping Extravaganza.

Too bad I didn't get to spend my day like Hoosier did...4 hours at the salon. Isn't he so handsome?

Up for Grabs!

Well, the new abc ME READ button is up for grabs on our blog. You can scroll down and see it on my left sidebar. So go visit our blog, grab our button and spread the word!

We Have Lift-Off!

After 10 months of really tedious (but really fun) work, abc ME READ has launched! To learn more about our educational programs and method, please check out our website (http://www.abcmeread.com/) and blog (http://www.infoabcmeread.blogspot.com/) and read the letter below.

[Sorry the letter is hard to read. I've tried to fix it but can't get it to go any bigger. Hopefully, you have good vision or a magnifying glass handy! If not, the website has the same information.]



A promotional sample of our Kids Alphabet Book Club is available for download for only $9.99 for a limited time only. Check it out today and spread the word!

Want to learn more about the educational programs, trainings and opportunities we have available for you? E-mail me at info@abcmeread.com.

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

On Friday and Saturday, I did NOT spend hours upon hours cleaning the house in anticipation of houseguests. I did NOT wash the dog, the windows and anything else that didn't move. Hoosier did NOT proceed to lick said windows, and I did NOT wash them again (and again).

10 minutes before our guests were due to arrive, Hoosier did NOT run through the house with muddy paws because I did NOT suggest to Don that our wet dog needed to go outside. When we put him in the tub to wash off muddy paws, the shower hose did NOT choose that moment to break and spray water all over muddy bathroom. I did NOT have to remop muddy floors, I did NOT ruin multiple bath towels wiping him down, and I did NOT have to do multiple loads of laundry to attempt to salvage ruined towels. In addition, I did NOT do all these things while wearing a white top (which actually did NOT get dirty!) and heels.

Once aforementioned houseguests left, I did NOT pretend that I did not have 23 reading tests to grade and go to bed instead. And...this morning, I did NOT have a sweet parent volunteer grade those reading tests! Whew...I'm glad I did NOT do those things!

Show Us Your Life - Baby Shower Ideas

Another installment in Show Us Your Life, hosted by Kelly's Korner blog.

So, I really haven't hosted a whole lot of baby showers (OK, by that I mean I've only hosted 1 and even that was long distance so I can't take a whole lot of credit), but I will still share a few fantastic ideas that came out of that shower.

Last year, I helped throw a baby shower for my best friend, Izzy, who I definitely don't see enough of since she lives 2 1/2 hours away. I was recruited to carve a watermelon into a baby carriage. No easy feat, people, but you see, my first mistake was doing a really good job (if I do say so myself) of carving a watermelon basket for her bridal shower four years prior. SO...I gathered up a watermelon, a crayon and some knives and got to work. Well, once again, I did a great job (you'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now) so I am now known as the Watermelon Carver Extraordinaire. Here's a pic of my masterpiece...

Well, I wish I could say that my watermelon baby carriage was the cutest thing at the shower, but it wasn't. Izzy's family (mom, aunt, grandma), while all awesome, are also very crafty. They came up with the idea of creating little diaper bag favors. The diaper bags were sewn out of various kid-friendly fabrics, filled with cut-up pieces of real diapers and topped with an organza bag of smelly salts. If you're not in awe by all of that, the best part is that they are shown onto little itty-bitty hangers so you can use them as an air freshener. So cute! Here is the one I chose...

And, of course, a pic of my best buddy, the mom-to-be, and me...

Hope you can use our ideas for someone special, and, in case you're wondering, she had a beautiful baby girl, Carleigh Jane (who I also don't see enough of!). Enjoy!

She's a Beauty!

It's here! My new gas range arrived this afternoon, and It. Is. Awesome. I am so excited to use it. I know, I know...I can't believe I haven't taken it for a test drive yet either, but my brother and sister-in-law are coming into town tomorrow to visit and see the house. Thus, I need to clean the house. Anyways, here it is (sorry it's a bit blurry)...





My only thought...it looks so clean and pretty and white, I definitely think we need to update the other kitchen appliances!

A New Range!

Today, Don and I made a big purchase for the house...a new gas range. Currently, my stove has 1 and a 1/2 working burners (don't ask) which makes it a bit difficult to cook! My new stove has 5, that's right 5, flat burners (easy cleanup), a very large oven and a warming drawer!

Here she is...




You may be wondering how a stove has 5 burners. Well, there is an extra long burner that runs down the middle. It can be used as an additional regular burner or can be swapped out with a special griddle burner. I am so excited, I can hardly wait until Friday when it is delivered. As soon as we left the store, I had to call my sister and tell her. We laughed when she pointed out how it's interesting what we get excited about as adults...for me, it's my new stove! Can't wait to get cookin'!

Show Us Your Life-Vacation Spots

Kelly's Korner blog is hosting a Show Us Your Life series. This week the theme is "Favorite Vacation Spots." Since I've been reading this blog forever, I finally decided to join in!

Since Don and I are saving up for our 5th Anniversary Dream Vacation Extravaganza next year- a Mediterranean cruise - we have not taken a regular vacation in quite some time. However, we are pros at the short, close to home staycation. We have taken many of these, but I do have a favorite that I've previously blogged about. Last month, we spent a day (I know, I know...that shouldn't even be considered a staycation, but in my book, it is!) at Turkey Run State Park in western Indiana. It's about a 2 hour drive from Indianapolis. There is a lovely inn on the property for people looking to spend a real staycation. It was a blast, though, just spending a day! We took Hoosier and a picnic lunch and spent the day hiking the trails.

First, though, we had to get to the trails by crossing this bridge over Sugar Creek. If you look real closely at the picture, you will see a person floating down the creek. You can rent tubes and pretend you're in a giant lazy river.

There were beautiful cliffs, dried riverbeds and rock formations to look at as we hiked.


There were even a few little creeks we had to walk through...Hoosier LOVED that part!


As you can probably tell, we like to hike the rugged trails.

The sometimes VERY rugged trails...surprisingly (or maybe not), Hoosier was much more adept at certain aspects of these trails than his Mama and Daddy. Seriously, try to hold onto a leash while a 65 lb. dog goes barreling down the hill made of rocks! Can't believe we didn't have to make a trip to a nearby emergency room!

More rock formations and trees...

This staycation was so much fun, we plan on hiking many other state parks. Of course, since Don works for the Department of Natural Resources, it's only natural that we would spend our days at the state parks. Oh well, it's fun, and I'm always up for helping the local economy! Hope you get to enjoy a staycation soon!

We're Bloggin' Fools

Our computer has seen a lot of blogging going on recently. In addition to my own blogging, Don has spent the past week (and upcoming week and a half) blogging from the State Fair. Rough job, huh? He actually spends the day out at the fair, being paid to blog, eat and enjoy some good old-fashioned fun. If you want to see what he's been up to, check out the DNR's State Fair blog at http://www.indianadnr.wordpress.com/. There's even a food log so you can stay up-to-date on what he's been eating each day. I know you're dying to know, people!

Here's a little taste of what else you may find...



I apologize in advance for any bad jokes.

I Love Food

That's right. I do. Probably a little too much. Hence the Biggest Loser challenge going on at my school. No, I'm not winning (not even close)...imagine that! Anyway, tomorrow is a professional development day at my school and these days usually consist of meetings and food. We like to do potlucks, and last year, we started doing food challenges. We would choose an ingredient that had to be in the dish we brought, pay to eat and vote on our favorite. Then, at the end of the day, a winner was announced and that person got to keep all the cash. Well, this time around, we decided to do a 100 calorie challenge. The dish we bring must be 100 calories or less per serving. So, I googled "100 calorie recipes" and found one that I thought sounded good. Well, I just finished making it and let's just say I've probably consumed about 700 calories in the past 10 minutes. It is delicious! It is a caramel apple salad (this can be a side dish or dessert). It is super easy, quick and wonderful.

Here is the recipe:

Combine 1 box sugar free instant butterscotch pudding mix and 14 oz. pineapple tidbits in juice. Mix well; add 8 diced apples (4 Granny Smith, 4 Fuji...or whatever you have on hand) and combine. Fold in 8 oz. fat free Cool Whip; chill.

1 serving (which I think is approximately 1 cup) has 90 calories and 0.4 g of fat.

Here is the finished product (and yes, the spoon sitting next to the bowl was my accomplice).

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did, and I hope it wins me my first food challenge!

New Signature

Just checking out my new signature.

(Damn, it's still polka-dotted once I publish! Anyone know why my signature is doing this???)

My New Obsession

I have an obsession...you can find it at http://www.etsy.com/. During the past 48 hours, I have become addicted to this website. It is sort of like Ebay for handmade items. When I say handmade, I mean beautiful jewelry, clothing, purses, children's clothing and toys, housewares, etc., etc., etc. at very reasonable prices. I can't stop scouring this website. Is it bad to admit that I am now really looking forward to Christmas just so I have an excuse to buy something? In the meantime, this poor teacher will just continue virtual window shopping for that perfect item. Go check it out...you will become addicted too. While you're browsing, should you come across the bag below, there is one little blogging girl from Indianapolis that would love to have it...

Best. Meal. Ever.

OK, so we began playing "Biggest Loser" at work last week hence I am trying to cook very healthy meals at home (does this cancel out exercise??). Well, I came across this recipe for Turkey Meatballs and thought I'd give it a try. I do tend to replace ground beef with ground turkey any chance I get, and I don't often make meatballs so I thought it would be a nice change. Wow! Best. Meal. Ever. Don and I absolutely loved them so I thought I would share them with all of you. Here is the recipe (and sorry I don't have pics...I didn't plan on blogging about this!)...

Ingredients:
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-1/4 pounds lean ground turkey
1 jar (26 ounces) meatless spaghetti sauce
9 ounces uncooked spaghetti

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the spinach, bread crumbs, onion, parsley, garlic, nutmeg, allspice and pepper. Crumble turkey over mixture and mix well. Shape into 24 meatballs. Place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil 4-6 in. from the heat for 8 minutes. Turn; broil 3-5 minutes longer or until meat is no longer pink. Transfer meatballs to a Dutch oven; add spaghetti sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain. Serve with meatballs and sauce.

This recipe serves 6 and each serving (4 meatballs with sauce and spaghetti) has only 9 g of fat and 405 calories. Serve with a good garlic bread or vegetable and voila! Enjoy!

Something You Don't See Everyday

Have I mentioned that we live on a very wooded lot? We have all sorts of wildlife in our yard. Well, today I saw some of that wildlife up close...really close...and it nearly scared the pants off me. You see...I walked into the kitchen and sat down at the computer desk which happens to be in front of a very large window that overlooks our backyard (and more specifically, a bird feeder). Here is what I saw...

And then he did this...

Yes, that is a squirrel hanging upside-down from my bird feeder (which is about 4 feet high), eating bird seed. He stayed there about 5 minutes or so munching on his lunch. Hmmm...definitely NOT something you see everyday.