Monday, May 31, 2010

Menu Plan Monday, May 31, 2010


Welcome to Menu Plan Monday, hosted by Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

After a busy holiday weekend, I'm ready for an easy menu this week. It's our last week of school until August! I'm so excited about that! It's hard to believe this is the last day of May and June is just around the corner. Here's our plan for the week:

Sunday~Peppercorn Marinated Rib Eye Steak, Steakhouse Potato Salad, Watermelon

Monday~Grilled Kielbassa, Hot Dogs, Leftover Salads (potato and linguine) and Baked Beans

Tuesday~BBQ Pork Ribs, Foil Packet Potatoes, and Green Beans

Wednesday~Spaghetti, Veal Parmesan, and Garlic Toast

Thursday~Take Out~Dress Rehearsal for dd

Friday~Pizza and Grilled Glazed Drummies

Peace and blessings,

Lisa

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Small Successes~May 27, 2010

FaithButton

It's been a while since I've posted my small successes because life has been more than busy and overwhelming at times. This house selling and house building journey has been more time consuming and emotionally draining than I ever thought it would be! Here are today's small successes:

1. I was able to get the bathroom and kitchen scrubbed yesterday evening while dh went to pick up the boat.

2. The camper is ready for the season!

3. Many of my reading students, all of whom were significantly below grade level in September, have scored 9 out of 9 possible on their quarterly assessement. I never thought we would achieve that with them.

Blessings,

Lisa

Sunday, May 23, 2010

New Bedding....


As many of you know, we are building a new house. The house should be ready by mid-July at the latest. Plans for colors and finishes are running through my head day and night. I really love this bedding set from JCPenney. I'm thinking of it for the Master Bedroom. Then I'm thinking that I'll do the coral color in the Master Bath to tie the two rooms together. Any thoughts on this? I'd appreciate it!
peace,
Lisa

Menu Plan Monday, May 24, 2010





Welcome to another Menu Plan Monday, hosted by Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie. I haven't posted a menu in about 2 weeks because life has just taken over. I was very ill last week and through the weekend. We've been so busy with everything that it's been hard to find time to post to this blog. I'm looking forward to blogging more through the summer months. Here's our plan for the week:

My Granny's Chocolate Cobbler

Sunday~Weeknight Lasagna Toss, Tossed Salad, Italian Bread and My Granny's Chocolate Cobbler for Dessert

Monday~ Best Grilled Pork Chops, Rice Pilaf and Green Beans

Tuesday~ Weeknight Taco Salads

Wednesday~Lemon-Basil Chicken, Angel Hair in Garlic and Olive Oil, Tossed Salad

Thursday~Hot Dogs and Fries

Friday~ Pizza and Wing Night

Have a week full of blessings!

Peace,

Lisa

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Zesty Chicken Marinara




Zesty Chicken Marinara


4 bone-in chicken breast halves (12 to 14 ounces each), skin removed
2 cups marinara sauce
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1-1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 pound uncooked angel hair pasta
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese


Directions
Place chicken in a 4-qt. slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the marinara sauce, tomato, Italian salad dressing, Italian seasoning and garlic; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until chicken is tender. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Serve chicken and sauce with pasta; sprinkle with cheese.

Serves 4
Enjoy!
Blessings,
Lisa

Monday, May 10, 2010

SOLD!


As I drove up the street today, I saw this sign on my front lawn. I guess it's official now...feeling a bit sad about it. We've made so many memories here, raised our kids here for the last 10 years, put a lot of heart and soul into making this our home. New things are on the horizon, but it's bittersweet.
Blessings,
Lisa

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Maddie's Cake


It's our precious daughter's 5th birthday today. She is in love with the Disney princesses. This year's (or should I say month's) favorite is Belle from Beauty and the Beast. All she wanted for her birthday was the Belle dress up dress and accessories and that's what she got! She jumped up and down when she opened it screaming "It's just what I wanted!" over and over again. It was so darn cute! So here she is all dressed up in her costume.

This is my first attempt at a doll cake. It's as close to Belle as I could get! I think it turned out pretty well for my first attempt.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Lisa

Mother's Day Gifts

Happy Mother's Day to you! It's been a very busy day here. I'm just pausing a moment or two to share some of the wonderful gifts I received from my parents, my dh and the kids.


My parents bought me this yummy candle Strawberry Buttercream and a beautiful Mother/Daughter book.




This beautiful nightgown was from John.




This bracelet is from the kids. It's black agate and the heart reads " Happy Mother's Day" on one side and "Love, Hunter and Maddie" on the other. Isn't it beautiful?


They also bought me a pair of Liz sunglasses since I have a tendency to always misplace mine....lol....they know me so well!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope your Mother's Day was fantastic too!

Blessings,

Lisa

Happy Mother's Day




Most Gracious Heavenly Father,

We thank You for our mothers to whom You have entrusted the care of every precious human life from its very beginning in the womb.

You have given to woman the capacity of participating with You in the creation of new life. Grant that every woman may come to understand the full meaning of that blessing, which gives her an unlimited capacity for selfless love for every child she may be privileged to bear, and for all Your children.

Watch over every mother who is with child, strengthen her faith in Your fatherly care and love for her and for her unborn baby. Give her courage in times of fear or pain, understanding in times of uncertainty and doubt, and hope in times of trouble. Grant her joy in the birth of her child.

To mothers You have given the great privilege and responsibility of being a child's first teacher and spiritual guide. Grant that all mothers may worthily foster the faith of their children, following the example of Mary, Elizabeth, and other holy women who follow Christ. Help mothers to grow daily in knowledge and understanding of Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and grant them the wisdom to impart this knowledge faithfully to their children, and to all who depend upon them.

Assist all "spiritual mothers", those who, though they may have no children of their own, nevertheless selflessly care for the children of others -- of every age and state in life. Grant that they may know the joy of fulfilling this motherly calling of women, whether in teaching, nursing, religious life, or in other work which recognizes and fosters the true dignity of every human being created in Your image and likeness.

We beseech You to send Your Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to all mothers who sorrow for children that have died, are ill or estranged from their families, or who are in trouble or danger of any kind. Help grieving mothers to rely on Your tender mercy and fatherly love for all your children.

We ask your blessing on all those to whom You have entrusted motherhood. May Your Holy Spirit constantly inspire and strengthen them. May they ever follow the example of Mary, mother of Our Lord, and imitate her fidelity, her humility, and her self-giving love. May all mothers receive Your Grace abundantly in this earthly life, and may they look forward to eternal joy in Your presence in the life to come.

We ask this through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.
AMEN.
Blessings,
Lisa

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Empty Bowl Dinner



Our high school Key Club held an Empty Bowls Dinner to help increase awareness about homelessness in the area. We attended the dinner last night and had a really nice evening. The students in the district's art classes made bowls. Above is a photo of the three bowls we bought last night. They served beef vegetable and broccoli cheese soup with a slice of bread. It really makes one thankful for what you have when you consider that a bowl of soup and a slice of bread are what some people survive on daily.


The kids and me

My friend Laurie with my daughter (left) and a colleague's baby girl.




There was live music by Rachel Allen and her son Johnny, who is a middle school student in our district.



A local dance company performed a hip-hop number. Several of my former students were performing. They did a great job!


Thanks for stopping by!
Blessings and peace,
Lisa



Monday, May 3, 2010

Menu Plan Monday, May 3, 2010


Welcome to another Menu Plan Monday, hosted by Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie. I'm sorry to say that last week's menu plan was poorly followed. Several things came up and life was just a little crazy. Although we have several things going on this weekend, this week should be much more settled. We're looking forward to a wedding on Saturday, a first holy communion and dd's fifth birthday on Sunday. Things are moving forward with our new house and the selling of our house. We've learned that we have to be aggressive when dealing with everyone involved with our building progress in order to get things done in a timely manner. Our contractor couldn't be more wonderful. I appreciate all he is doing for us. Enough of my babbling...

Sunday~ Spaghetti, Veal Parmesan and Tossed Salad

Monday~BBQ and Hot Wings, Fries and Baked Beans

Tuesday~Grilled Pork Chops, Angel Hair tossed with Olive Oil and Garlic, Salad

Wednesday~Cinco de Mayo--Taco Pasta

Thursday~Steak Sandwiches and Oven Fries

Friday~Crockpot Steak with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans

Saturday~Wedding of Sarah and Issac

Have a week full of blessings, peace and love,

Lisa