Sunny Saturday Craziness

I could get very used to sleeping til noon on a sunny Saturday with my husband next to me. Then to get up and be lazy yet get lots of errands done. We laughed and joked. We both agreed it was awesome to sleep in and have no kids waking us up.  See this isn't a normal occurrence around here since Troy is a GM for a local restaurant and Saturday's are the busy days and that's when they need him (see me rolling my eyes?).

I just wanted to share how cute my husband is when he is home with no worries...

His new head lamp with the red light on... what's that going to do for you?

Same head lamp, but with a light that you can really do something with.

Our Wal-Mart trip left him thinking what hat to wear for Rodeo Houston... NOT this one!

Another Wal-Mart hat, this isn't too bad. But we aren't going to the Rodeo, so this is a NO too.

GHETTO! I wish the picture would have shown the skull and cross bones and 6 nose rings looking things on the side.
But do notice that we are right next to the baby dept with his arms loaded with dog bones.
He isn't so ghetto after all.

Best Cookies My Grandmama Ever Made for Me

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1 cup chopped nuts

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts.

Spread evenly in a 9x13 dish and back for 15-18 minutes or until just brown on top.

Quote of the Day

“Patience is bitter, but the fruit is sweet.”

― Lida Clarkson

King Ranch Casserole- My Way

King Ranch Casserole- My Way

1/2 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 jar mushrooms, sliced

1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
1 can rotel
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups shredded cheese
1 package of corn tortillas
2-4 chicken breast, diced

Sauté onion, garlic and mushrooms. Combine soups, rotel and chili powder in skillet with onion mixture. Bring to a low simmer for a few minutes for flavors to meld well. Dip tortillas in warmed (not hot) chicken broth and layer in bottom of dish. Take soup and pour in enough to cover tortillas. Sprinkle cooked chicken on the top, then sprinkle with cheese. Repeat steps until mixture and chicken are gone. Sprinkle cheese on top of casserole.

Bake uncovered on 350°F for 45 minutes. Let cool and thicken for 10 minutes. Garnish with sour cream and enjoy.

I use store bought rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Let it cool, debone, remove skin and dice. Also, there is no other chili powder to use other than Gebhardt's Chili Powder. Find it, use and you will taste a difference! I also use more garlic than onion, cause Troy and I don't like onion. I have made this with a 1 1/2lb ground beef, browned.

EASY EASY EASY

THE BEST Chili Powder around!
www.conagrafoods.com

Line the casserole dish in the softened tortillas

Layer up

YUMMMMY! Warm, Bubbly Goodness

Quote of the Day

The future depends on what we do in the present. - Mahatma Gandhi

The Library

So how many of you without kids have been to your local library recently? ME ME ME. Love hanging out here at the library. Today I am "working" at the Barbara Bush Harris County Public Library (http://www.hcpl.net/location/barbara-bush-cypress-creek). This is the coolest place.

I remember dreading coming here when I was a kid and needed to research a project. It was such a small building and sooo many people here on the weekends. There weren't any computers (well only those incredibly slow things that looked up the card catalog book numbers). I think that Barbara Bush Library is the largest library in the Harris County Library System (not attached to the Lone Star College). Its two stories, with the neatest kids department down stairs and lots of multi-media and books upstairs for adults. So I sit here now in the library and remember all the things that your Mom teaches you about library etiquette... use the smallest inside voice that you can; no cell phones EVER inside the library; let the librarian re-shelf the books so that others can find them; learn something; and the big one that was repeated often use the smallest inside voice.

I am trying to remember what the definition of "library" is since it has changed so much in the last few years. Wikipedia defines it as:
A library is a collection of sources, resources, and services, and the structure in which it is housed; it is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, or a private individual. In the more traditional sense, a library is a collection of books. It can mean the collection itself, the building or room that houses such a collection, or both. The term "library" has itself acquired a secondary meaning: "a collection of useful material for common use." This sense is used in fields such as computer science, mathematics, statistics, electronics and biology. It can also be used by publishers in naming series of related books, e.g. The Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology. Libraries most often provide a place of silence for studying.
Public and institutional collections and services may be intended for use by people who choose not to — or cannot afford to — purchase an extensive collection themselves, who need material no individual can reasonably be expected to have, or who require professional assistance with their research. In addition to providing materials, libraries also provide the services of librarians who are experts at finding and organizing information and at interpreting information needs.

Well today I am using wi-fi here at the library in a "quiet" room and working on marketing info for my father in-law and my resume (I NEED A REAL JOB!). There are computer classes going on in the room to my right and a gentleman working in the quiet room to my left with a loud voice.

I come to the library not to hear others talk and not to hear parents "shhhh" their child and remind them of their inside voice, but I come here to learn and read. I challenge you to look up your nearest library and take a journey through their rows and rows of books/cds/dvds/magazines/events. You never know what you will learn until you take the journey.

What a busy weekend...

So the weekend kicked off with BINGO on Thursday.

Friday was Girls Night In. Wow, its a good thing we werent out anywhere. We were LOUD, but had sooo much fun. I hadnt seen Becky since high school, which is more years than I would like to remember. The picture isnt so great, but the laughter, drinks, food and games had already begun.  Hey Ladies... we need to do it again soon!

Becky, Sadia & Mindy

Bright and early on Saturday morning, Troy and I went to help some very very good friends pack and begin their move. The Mowry's are moving from around the corner to Central Texas. They have been around the corner for 28 years. I cant remember a time in my life that the Mowry family has not been there for me. When I was just a pup and I began claiming the Mowry kids as my own siblings (most of the time they claimed me too). I can remember a day when I was about 16 and thought I was the IT in the big city of NW Houston. My Dad and Step-Mom had given a 1977 doo-doo brown Toyota hatchback standard to drive.  

My mother, father, step-mother & step-sister had all given up on me learning how to drive this awesome car, did I say that I was learning in 1993? Anyway, Hal and Linda gave me a talking to and Hal got in the car and said "Let's get this figured out and start driving". These are just a few, quick memories;  I am going to miss the Mowry's being "around the corner".  

So, Saturday night was "Boys Night" except we wives have crashed the party. We had a great meal and played games. Cant wait for next month's dinner night! Hey Steve, the ante has been up'd for dinner, what are ya fixin'?
 

Troy, Diana, Mark & Steve

I am looking at Troy and I's calendar for this week... looks like a bunch of work and no play. Well that is until I get to have lunch on Saturday with my girlfriend, Liz. Woo Hoo, come on Saturday! 

Quote of the day:

That best portion of a good man's life, his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love. --William Wordsworth