Crock Pot Lovin'

My crock pot is the most amazing thing in my kitchen! Well, unless I'm standing in there! I love love love being able to throw some random stuff in there and coming home to the aroma of dinner ready to serve. Yesterday, I tried out a new recipe (with some of my own additions, of course, because you know I can never leave well enough alone). Middle kiddo "loooooved" it. Oldest kiddo only likes very plain slabs of meat on his plate, so he was like whatever. Hubby ate a good serving. Baby didn't have any because, well, she doesn't know how to chew yet. Anyhoo, here's the recipe. Try it out!

1 1/2 pounds chicken drumsticks
2 cups ketchup
1 liter Coke
1 tsp minced garlic (or the equivalent of whatever form of garlic you prefer)
salt and pepper

Place the chicken in the crock pot. Salt and pepper the chicken to your preferred taste. Add the garlic. Then pour the ketchup and Coke on top. Put the lid on and cook for 8+ hours on low.

I served it with green beans and rice. (I had planned to serve mashed potatoes but hubby had to go help someone with their car and the kiddos won't eat mashed potatoes when he gone, so I took the path of least resistence and served what I knew they'd eat.)

**I still have another chicken in the crock pot recipe to share that I mentioned last week, but I'm still working on fine tuning it. I will pass it along when I get it just right. Be patient!!

OMG Ya'll!!

Please excuse my Britney Spears-esqe title, but I'm super excited! One of my favorite bloggers over at Two Toddlers and Me gave me my very first bloggy award!! She has bestowed me with the Love Ya! Award.

Isn't it pretty?!

I'm so excited and am now in search of a super awesome dress in which to accept the award. In the mean time, I'll share with you the 411 on the award and pass it along to some of my other favorite bloggers.

First, let me share with you the notes that came along with the fabulous award:

• This award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming.
• These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends.
• They are not interested in self-aggrandizement.
• Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.
  
• Please give more attention to these writers.
• Deliver this award to six bloggers who must choose six more and include this text into the body of their award.

Second, I would like to pass the Love Ya! Award on to the following fabulous bloggers:

1. My dear friend, April over at A Labor of Love: She and her hubby are beginning the adoption process. I love her and wish her the very very best on their journey.
2. Odelia, my beautiful (in body and soul) friend, at American Housewife Daily: She blogs about her daily devotionals and always leaves me with something to think about. I love her!
3. Kel at A Hesitant Housewife: She is a witty domestic engineer that never fails to amuse me.
4. Jen, who very likely might be my doppelganger, at Random Blitherings of a (Not So) Domestic Goddess: I've known her since our days in Hawaii and she is hilarious. She's got a fab family to brag about.
5. The lovely high-heel-lovin' Mom over at Mom in High Heels: I stumbled onto her blog one day and have been charmed ever since. She is a fellow military wife blogging her way through Germany, home schooling and, of course, Random Thoughts Tuesday. She is funny and has amazing shoes!

Well, I couldn't come up with six to pass it along to, but these gals are all fabulous! Go check them out while I pick the best dress for the occasion.

And, again, a big THANK YOU for this honor!

This One Time At Band Camp

OMG, it's Tuesday! That means that is time to get down and random with it! If you haven't visited here before or have no clue what RTT is all about head on over to visit The UnMom.

**I actually never went to band camp. I just wanted to use that as a title. I was in band though.

**We are moving! In April, we'll be headed back to Texas. Woo hoo!

**The moving thing is seriously effing with my education though.

**Good Start/Gerber/whoever the heck they are sent me a new store of coupons today. In the packet, there was a flyer for new Gerber Yogurt blends baby foods. Awesome! I thought. They didn't send any flippin' coupons for said product. Got me all excited, then let me down. Don't they know that mama is cheap and isn't going to buy the new (probably more pricey) food without a coupon.

**I convinced myself this morning that animal crackers and diet coke were a decent breakfast. However, halfway through class, my stomach disagreed.

**I need to write a Marxist critism of Death in Venice for my lit theory class tomorrow. Exciting (not).

**You know the two Edies that Lorelei and Rory talk about on Gilmore Girls? Yeah, I saw the end of the 2009 movie based on them on HBO yesterday. Now I'm intrigued and trying to find time to watch it on-demand. Maybe I could give up a few hours of sleep...hmm, maybe I'm not that intrigued...

Yep, so that's all of my random babblings for today. Enjoy your Tuesday and come visit again (soon)!

Dear Me..With Love, Your Future Self

So it hit me the other day, that ten years ago, I was making my way through my senior year in high school. Ten years? I know, I don't look old enough. Right?! But yes, ten years! I began to think about how I saw life then, what my goals were and what my 17 year old self thought my future would look like. Well, let me tell ya, where I'm at now compared to where I thought I would be are two totally different places. In all these thoughts, I wondered what I would tell myself if I could write a little note to that girl. You know, kinda like the Brad Paisley song. This is what I came up with:

Dear 17 year old version of me,

I know this is going to sound weird, but this is you ten years from now. I understand that you have a very busy life full of school, work and socializing. However, I wanted to pass along a few tidbits of information that you might be interested in. First, stop worrying about the future so much. Yes, you are about to step out into the world as an adult, but you still have a few months. Enjoy them! Second, don't worry so much about boys. Someday soon you will meet a wonderful man. You'll know him the minute you lay eyes on him. He's going to take you on the adventure of a lifetime. Finally, I know you have big plans. Many of those plans will transform over the years until you finally land on what you truly want to do in life. When you discover it, you'll be pleasantly surprised. I promise. Keep that ambition and drive that allows you to make such big plans. The strength and courage that comes along with that ambition is going to get you through some things that I cannot even begin to tell you about. Most importantly, keep an open heart and an open mind. Love with every ounce of your being. Tell those whom you love how you feel every chance you get. Forgive easily. Now, please, get on with your day.

With love,
Your Future Self

P.S. Go hug Granny and Papa!

P.P.S. When you have children, please don't name them anything goofy like Apple or Pilot Inspektor or Fifi Trixibelle.

Books, Books and More Books

Lately, I have been reading a lot of books. Mostly for school, but some for pleasure as well. I decided that I'll share my opinions on these books with you (because it's my blog and I do what I want).

Hard Times by Charles Dickens

• OMG, could a book move any slower?! This one is not the most action packed novel I've read lately, but overall it's not a bad story. Dickens gives an interesting critique of the society produced as a result of industrialization in England. Many of the themes throughout are still applicable in today's society. You just have to get over the slow moving pace of the novel.
  

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

• This book was AMAZING! It is about one woman's year long journey through Italy, India and Indonesia in search of all those things we are all searching for. You know the ever elusive pleasure, balance and general sense of peace. Her story is told in a series of really humorous tales and will have you rooting for her throughout.
  

Death in Venice by Thomas Mann

• Weird does not even begin to describe this one. The main character who is a 50 year old man goes on vacay and develops a crush on a 13 year old boy. Yep, I told you. Weird. I really don't know what else to say about this one.
  

The First 3 Books in the Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich

• These books are HILARIOUS! Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter out to find bail jumpers and always ends up solving some sort of mystery along the way. They are fairly easy reads that you could probably finish in a day or two. Go read them. Now! Seriously, these books are too funny to miss out on.
  

The Winning Spirit by Joe Montana

• My mommy sent me this one on CD to listen to on my way to and from school. It was pretty good. Of course, I believe that Joe Montana is the best quarterback of my lifetime. This book is a great look into how he got to be such a fabulous quarterback as well as great advice on how to accomplish things in your own life.
  

Well, that's it for now. I am still trying to finish The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (school really cuts into my free time) and I'll be starting Underdogs soon for my history course. I'm sure there will be several other books thrown in there as well. As always, I'll keep you up to date on what I'm reading and what I think of it.

A Crock Pot Kind of Day

Today is overcast, a bit chilly and a perfect day for cooking in my fantabulous crock pot! I love love love my crock pot! A few minutes ago the hubby mentioned that it is a stew kind of day, so I'll be making a family favorite called Meatball & Veggie Stew. If you are curious about the recipe, check it out in this post from a while back. I'm also clipping a bunch of coupons from the Sunday paper. All in all, I am enjoying a lovely Sunday afternoon and hope you are as well!

Microwaves & Panic Buttons

I was just reading some wall posts on the Fort Knox Facebook page. It was pretty amusing actually. As I was reading through them, I came across one providing a crime prevention tip. The tip was to place your car keys on your night stand, then if you hear a noise during the night you could push the panic button and have an instant alarm. Do you see the assumption in there?! This little tip assumed that we all have panic buttons on our key chains. Well, I don't even have cruise control, let alone a panic button.

It reminded me of a story the hubby was telling me the other day. I bought him a little Thai noodle meal to eat for lunch one day. I knew the suggested directions were to microwave it but I figured he could substitute boiling water and achieve the same effect. Well, apparently, I was wrong (shhh...). He went back to work after lunch and was telling his co-workers about this and they were really confused. They seriously thought he was pulling their legs when he told them that we don't have a microwave. (It broke a few months back and we just don't feel the need to buy another one.)

In our world, so dependent upon technology, we are so amazed when we hear that a person makes do without something like a microwave or a panic button. Personally, I have no idea how people live without hair straighteners and laptops.