In Pain!

I don't know what I did, I'm not sure I want to know what I did, but whatever the HECK it was IT REALLY HURTS!!!!!!!

Sometime last week I realized my right shoulder was really tight. My loving husband would tell you it is nothing new, I am always whining for someone to massage my shoulders. As the week went on it hurt worse and worse and there was NO SIGN of the pain letting up. Did I call the Chiropractor...nope just kept complaining and living with (complaining about) the pain. The weekend rolled around and the pain was almost UNBEARABLE!!!! I spent all of Sunday in my jammies on the couch (oh yeah, Will would tell you that is nothing new for me either!)

Today I was able to get in to see my Chiropractor; Dr Thompson. By the time I made the appointment yesterday the pain had moved from my right shoulder and neck all the way around to my right front to the very point of my collar bone! I can't even touch my collar bone it is so painful! Well, needless to say Dr Thompson informed me that I was a mess! I wanted to say, DUH Doc! Tell me something I don't know, that my husband doesn't know, Oh yeah, and that my friends don't know!!! But I kept my sarcastic humor to myself. He found that BOTH of my hips were out, my neck was out in two different places, the middle of my back he adjusted in a FEW different spots, AND my shoulder and collar bone BOTH needed adjusting.

I feel a bit better but hope to feel TONS better after my massage tonight! I hope to be back up and BLOGGIN' soon. But my shoulder can only handle so much movement.

By the way...why is it that your children seem to be so needy when you, yourself need a little "sick time?"

When In Doubt...

Root for BOTH!

This is the look of a very MIXED-UP and FRUSTRATED BOY!

Monday Meal Idea

I could spend DAYS just surfing the Blogger Network! Most days I get great ideas for crafting and decorating but lately I have been finding some WONDERFUL recipe ideas. Those of you who know me know I HATE TO COOK!!!!!! I would rather sit in the Dentist chair (No offense Dr Grow) getting a root canal than cook! But I have started to find and try some recipes that have made being in the kitchen not all that bad. NO I am NO WHERE ready to tie on the apron and call myself Rachel Ray...but I'm thinking part of my issue with cooking is coming up with ideas. SO, for all of you out there who feel the same way I hopefully have a solution for you. I am going to start posting a Monday Meal Ideas. Where each Monday I will try to post a new recipe with pictures (I hate recipes w/o pics...I am a very visual person!)

For my 1st Monday Meal Idea recipe I am going to share MY adaptation to Mexican Lasagna which I found on Little Birdie Secrets. I made a few changes to theirs due to the fact I didn't have, in the pantry, what it was asking for OR I wasn't a big fan of some of the ingredients. SO, here is MY adaptation of

Mexican Lasagna:

In a large pan, saute:

1 lb. ground beef

chopped onion

salt and pepper

minced garlic

taco seasoning

(I didn't measure the taco seasoning, just dumped some in...I'm sooooo turning into my mother!)

Once the meat is browned I added:

1 can diced tomatoes with oregano and basil

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies

Simmer for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375. In a 9x13 pan layer 3 flour tortillas, 1/2 can of refried beans, 1/2 meat mixture, and 1 cup shredded cheese. Repeat the layers one more time: tortillas, beans, meat mixture, and cheese. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes...and enjoy!

My family LOVED it. Will said it would be "extra" better with a few tortilla chips to dip in it too. The original recipe asked for the use of corn tortillas but since I don't like them I didn't use them. BUT, I think the corn tortillas would have made it a bit crunchier. The flour tortillas were good just didn't harden much.

Until next Monday Meal Ideas My Ladies~

Better Keep Their Day Jobs!

On Thursday, Taylor got the news she has been waiting to get for weeks! The guitar class she took last year was starting back up on Friday morning. She was soooo excited that she ran straight back to her room and got out her guitar. I don't know if she got it out due to uncontrollable excitement or that fact that she hadn't practiced in MONTHS!

She wasn't the only person excited about guitar starting again! That's right, the little brother ran straight to his room too. While Tay was in her room strumming away, I could hear Ryan singing in his room. As I quietly peeked my head around his door I found him on his bed with Taylor's old guitar out also strumming away.

(To hear the videos you will need to pause the music player at the bottom of the page.)

They both were so cute in their own worlds totally rockin out! Ryan seemed to be more into the Country Theme of singing about "loving his family and losing his dog." While Taylor's sound and look more resembled "a soft rock ballad."

And for the Finale...

I guess he was adding his "Kid Rock" version of Country!

I do believe both of my children are very talented and that they have the abilities to be ANYTHING in the world they want to be...but musicians probably are not in the cards for them. :)

Thank You Burger King??

Ryan, the Bart Simpson impersonator.

Friday night Will took the kids through Burger King for dinner. Anyone who knows Ryan well enough knows he isn't the LEAST bit concerned about the food. He just wants the STUPID 3 cent toy. This trip was no different. The thing that INFURIATES me is as badly as he cries for the darn toy it is forgotten about by the time we get home!!! Except for some strange reason Saturday afternoon he still had a hold of the dumb toy!

He came running out of his room, grabbed the TV remote with his left hand while holding the Bart Simpson toy (from BK) in his right and said "look at this." Above is the what he was showing us. The picture isn't real clear but Bart is sitting in a chair, holding a remote, and sticking out his tongue. And our "funny" little guy, for some strange reason decided he too could be just as funny if he mimicked Bart. We laughed so darn hard!

Ryan has NEVER seen an episode of The Simpson's due to the fact that I really don't need my young man to get ANY ideas from the not so kind Bart Simpson nor his "not so intelligent father, Homer." I'm not stupid enough to think that my nice young man won't ever come up with some of Bart's tricks on his own...but I DO know RyJack doesn't need ANY help with ideas!!!

Finally...

Silence in the house!

But wait a minute...she is sleeping IN MY BED!!!

Nummy Muffins

Tuesday I was surfing the Blogging world and came acrossed a WONDERFUL blog called Grace Violet. She is a very talented and creative lady! One of her posts was titled The Best Pumpkin Bread. Ever. I looked over the recipe and realized that even I could make this! I actually put Taylor in charge of mixing the recipe up. I had to step in though when we realized we were w/o Ground Cinnamon in the pantry and we had already started. Yeah, yeah...I know all you "Home Ec. Teachers" out there..."You should get out ALL your ingredients first before beginning" but we didn't, so Will saved the day by bringing some home.

As I checked in on Taylor's measuring and mixing I noticed she had a HUGE mound of baking soda in the bowl. After questioning it she said she put in 2 teaspoons just like it asks. Come to find out she had not realized that tsp and tbsp meant two different things. Great teachable moment! Even better was we caught it BEFORE it was detrimental to our taste buds!!!

As, I was teaching Tay about the difference between tsp and tbsp mind you I was using my calm teacher voice I had a MAJOR flashback to the first time a friend and I TRIED to make Banana Bread by ourselves. He was reading the directions aloud while I was doing the measuring and mixing. Well, he read "One cup oil" and I remember asking him to re-read it...Yep, he said, "ONE CUP OIL" So, I thought fine... I didn't question it again until the buzzer went off on the stove and we opened the oven door...to find two bread pans OOOOZZZZING with oil! I can still see them as plain as day. They were the most disgusting looking things you have ever seen in your life! Needless to say that should have been a sign of my future cooking abilities!!!! The worst part was we were more than capable of reading...we were in middle school!

Taylor and I decided to make muffins instead of loaves of bread. The title of the post was soooo very accurate! They are the best pumpkin muffins ever! I think they would be very good with raisins or dried cranberries added into the mix! I suggest giving the recipe a try. Plus, check out Grace Violet. I think you will enjoy her stuff.