Thursday, June 30, 2011

Adjusting To Texas

There's no easy way to say this, so I'm gonna just have to come out and say it. Rip-it-off-fast-and-be-done-with-it, Band-Aid style.
Florida was BLISS!
Bliss is being mooned at Mallory Square.
Bliss is the way it feels when a bead of sweat rolls down your back and tickles your spine.
Bliss is swimming every single day.
Bliss is stopping at fresh produce stands and juicing your own oranges for a change.
And that's just the tip of bliss. It bleeds and runs and gets carried away. Especially when it vacations in Florida.

But we're back. And we're adjusting to Texas again.
And it's gonna take some time, so bear with us because our hearts are still on Barefoot Beach.

Mom's wedding is just days away and it keeps a girl and her husband busy.

We'll be back soon. And then I'll pull the annoying neighbor move and invite you over for cocktails and a vacation slideshow!

If you knew about our stash of low-cal agave margaritas, you'd probably be knocking on our red front door as I speak because, baby - bliss done bled right into that bottle of margarita!

This is us. I love this pic. Imperfect we are and it doesn't get much more honest than this!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

We're 4 Sale!


Know anyone in need of an authentically loved home in the Round Rock area? There's something special about this house... my husband is an artisan woodworker and his touches are seen throughout our home in the extra unique built-in storage.

Here's a little glimpse of a tour through our home.

This is little Gigi's nursery.

Gray bathrooms are great with kids - dirt = hidden! (Wink!)

Hunter's room has a map wall that is designed to be explored with dry erase markers! 
You'll probably notice - the house is covered in hardwood floors (unless you're seeing tile in the bathrooms, kitchen, and foyer.)

The master bedroom holds HUGE furniture - high ceilings! 

Master Bath
This is where ladies apply makeup! 
La-la-living room!

And you can't beat running a dust mop over your floors for cleaning! 

Hey - did ya notice that picture of the airplane above the mantle? 

Yeah - this one. The husband was at it. (I'm so proud!)




You know how men feel about their electronic equipment - television in general! 

Our Kitchen - stainless steel appliances and tile for our cooks!


A little breakfast area for families to dine together.

And since you've already seen inside - you might as well see the outside!



Anyhow - if you're interested in buying this house
1. THANK YOU!
2. Call our Realtor, Marge Lemons at 512-589-7411 or e-mail her at Marge.lemons@gmail.com
3. Or have your Realtor bring you by - lock box on the door, bowl full-a candy on the table (Werther's, baby!)

Feel free to ask any questions in the comment box and I'll answer them to the best of my knowledge! 








Friday, June 10, 2011

Mommy Flubbed.





I feel terrible. Hunter had his 9th birthday on April 25th. This is the very first time, the ONLY time he has arrived at year number nine and celebration of this fact is due a blog announcement.


It's amazing how much one day (8 yrs. to 9 yrs.) can make! (Wink)




My apologies, son. You're so important to your mama, I just assumed the whole big, wide world was celebratin' right along with us!

We celebrated the event at one of our favorite Round Rock restaurants, Homefield Grill! Beats the hell outta Gattiland, y'all! A much more peaceful version of a restaurant with arcade games (and the food is SOOOOOOO much more worth the caloric value!






Anyhow - we ALL got together and celebrated. Even my grand-daddy came and had a nice time. Homefield was so accommodating, we even had our own little room for the festivities.
And I want to thank Mom, Dad, and Chris for swallowing the awkwardness of sittin' in a room together for the little guy's big day. (Divorce = AWKWARD! Though my fingers will be forever crossed that one day - that feeling called awkward will leave as swiftly as it came (and stay gone TWICE as long as it's been around.))

But if you're a nine year old boy and your hanging with your cousin - you're golden.
You're also golden if you've been saving your allowance and birthday money to the point that you've finally accumulated enough dough to buy...

DUN
         DUN
                 DUN!!!!!

The Star Wars Death Star!



It's SOOOOOO heavy! Lucky dude!

And it's got fifty gazillion pieces... this is just set/pack numero dos! 


Oh, yeah. You read that right. Hunter Michael is the proud owner of the Star Wars Death Star. (And he's politely requested I stop calling it the 'bath star' and any other mispronounciation of this important piece of Star Wars glory.

Happy birthday (belated) my wonderful son. I love you more every single day that you're with me. (That's gonna be a lotta love by the time you're ready to get your own place, isn't it!?! Good luck with that. Betcha Mama is gonna have a hard time lettin' you go because you're AWESOME!

LOVE LOVE LOVE - till next time!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

An F.Y.I.


Today I am bringing you this VERY important announcement should you ever invite the youngest Reynold to your home (a home that has in it any crayon or writing utensil.)

"THE CRAYON CAPER USES NO PAPER!" (Despite having been given several sheets of multi-colored construction paper.)



We're working on this, but for the time being - don't say I didn't warn you! 
"Gigi - what are you doing in Mommy's office and where is your dress?!"

Whatever. I'm gonna miss this very thing one day. 

Sunday, June 5, 2011

When A Girl Becomes A Teen

When a girl becomes a teenager, it's big stuff and must be treated as such.
About a week ago, my mom took the teen-to-be shopping for a birthday celebration.

We didn't quite know how to properly celebrate so I stole an old idea of my folks and made the stinker a special box filled with folded bits of paper presenting new responsibilities and privileges. We also tossed in a few affirmations and compliments for good measure.

And then, we decided breakfast in bed - definite MUST! And one must have orange juice in a wine glass - topped off with a KRAZY straw, of course.

We scrambled cheesy eggs and fried apple chicken sausage, filled her room with pink balloons (because we really never grow out of pink, balloons, and being princesses (do we?)


And we startled her awake with the birthday ballad!


This is my mom. 

Hungry Teenager
And you hafta let a teenager eat... they're hungry, you know.


But after a while, they'll wanna come open their birthday gifts. 


And the day has to go on, for a while anyhow. We dipped homemade moon pies and did a few chores.
And ended up having a nice birthday dinner with some of the other people that the teenager wanted to spend some birthday time with, too!

Dun...dun...dun.....
Benihana!

at
The Teenager's very own Granny Chris and Papa who were so kind to treat the Teenager to Benihana.

The teenager's groupie.

The Teenager's Grandpa Mark

The Beautiful Barb...

The Teenager's Teenage Aunt (and The Teenager's little brother)


The Teenager gave the day a big 'thumbs up' and was happy to share the day with so many folks who love her (and who she loves, too!)


Thursday, June 2, 2011

Cheese Pepper Soup

Soup is for summer, too. 

Soup is good. And if it's multi-colored - it's better.




To make this rainbow appear in your stockpot, do this: 
Ghee/clarified butter (a nice little pat) (or olive, grapeseed - whatever oil you've got that can be heated.)
1 red onion (diced)
1 sm. can jalapenos (drained and rinsed - ahem, this is super important unless you are wanting to seriously clear your sinuses and make your family cry.)
1 sm. can mushrooms
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 pkg. frozen mixed pepper strips
1 pkg. frozen broccoli & cauliflower mix florets
1 can diced tomatoes
1 and a half boxes chicken stock
1 pkg cream cheese
3 garlic cloves pressed or tblsp. garlic powder
quarter cup agave nectar or use another type of sweetener to taste
salt and pepper to taste

(If you have miracle noodles and feel like adding a pasta adventure to the pot. Toss them in - I did (linguine)
These are Miracle Noodles. Kinda creepy looking, but OH-SO-FABULOUS!

Place stock pot on stove and put on medium heat. Toss a pat of ghee or about a Tblsp. preferred oil. Saute the onion and add the jalapenos and mushrooms to the pan.

Add canned soup, tomatoes and stir. Add stock and frozen veggies as well as spices.

When the veggies are heated to your softness preference, add the cream cheese one cube at a time. Stir well.
If you have Miracle Noodles (Konjac Shiratake) on hand and have prepped them (*prep instructions below), feel free to stir them in if you're wanting to add a carb/calorie free pasta.
If you're wondering what the mess 'o soup looks like now....
Here's those Miracle Noodles. We all like 'em. Even Kevin (who HATES weird food!) They don't really have flavor (if you prep 'em properly) but they have perfect pasta texture and when your sauce is right, you're not looking for a noodle flavor 'cuz you're relishing your sauce.

The soup was a massive hit, especially with Julianne (the almost thirteen year old!)

Best part - it bought me another day of NOT hitting the grocery store!

Love,

Jessica



*Prepping your Miracle Noodles is important. You don't want them to taste like the liquid they're packed in, so you're going to want to pull out the colander and rinse them well - like 4-5 minutes kinda well. If you've got a non-stick fry pan, put it on the stove medium heat and cook the liquid off the drained/rinsed noodles and allow the noodles to become opaque and dry of the water you rinsed them in (they'll still be pliable.) Toss those babies in your soup and chow. (You can also oven roast if you'd rather, but I'm not big on heating my house in the summa-time.)