?????AUGUST?????

WOW! Where did July go? Did I just totally sleep through a whole month??
No, I know what happened, I went on vacation. I was gone one week, so what happened to the rest of the month??? You know, you try with all your might to get caught up at work, so you can enjoy your vacation. Then you come back and work, work, work to try to get caught up again. And the whole time you're thinking, "is it worth it?" Well, duh, of course it is. Throw a holiday in that same month and you really get behind!

So, let's start with the Fourth of July! We had a great time at the lake. I've never seen fireworks as great!!!! Here's one of the pictures:




Okay, now keep in mind that I'm on a boat on the lake, so it's very difficult to keep the camera perfectly still so as to take a good picture of the fireworks.

It was so pretty on the lake:



That's Zoe, Chelsey and me enjoying the sunset.



Mike has always enjoyed the water.




Captain Ron making sure everything checks out.



Brandon (who had a little toooo much sun) and Levi just kicking back, waiting for the fireworks.



Kellie, spoiling little Reagan.



Lindsay, Levi's fiance, who will become a member of our family in November.

We also spent a lot of time watching these



and more of these:



Overall, we had a great Fourth of July holiday. Sorry, I'm so late in getting this posted. Stick around, I'll share some vacation pictures later, I've got some catching up to do!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

HOPE YOU HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Racquet Zapper

Have you ever seen one of these? It's an electronic bug zapper. Nathan and Jennifer gave this to Mike for a Christmas present. I think it was kind of a joke. Mike is one of the hardest persons to buy for. If he wants it, he gets it himself. No matter if it's just a week before his birthday or Christmas. Anyway, it was one of his presents from them. And let me tell you, IT WORKS! I'm the worst at swatting flies! They just look at me and laugh. You can almost see them sticking their tongues out at me and laughing. I got this thing out this weekend, and showed no mercy to the little pests. They fear me now! I even killed one of those pesky June bugs! I think this may be the way I spend the fourth this year:

DID YOU EVER WONDER........

Where June bugs go when July arrives???? I'm not sure where they go, but I'm ready for them to leave! I'm tired of having to swat my way in and out of the door. And no matter how hard I try, one always manages to get in the house. So, on Tuesday, I'm hoping the June bug is OUT OF HERE!

If Life Is A Bowl Of Cherries

What am I doing in the pits??????

That's the title of a book by Erma Bombeck. I use to love reading her "At Wit's End" columns in the newspapers. She also had articles published in Good Housekeeping, Reader's Digest, McCall's and Redbook. I got married in 1976 and she had such a great sense of humor and vivid description of housewives and mothers! She would take everyday tasks such as washing dishes or changing dirty diapers and make it funny. Not only was she the funniest housewife in America, but she was probably the most insightful. For over 30 years Erma Bombeck made us laugh; she also made us think.

A few of her quotes:

Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved off the dessert cart.

All of us have moments in out lives that test our courage. Taking children into a house with a white carpet is one of them.

I just clipped 2 articles from a current magazine. One is a diet guaranteed to drop 5 pounds off my body in a weekend. The other is a recipe for a 6 minute pecan pie.

Housework, if you do it right, will kill you.

Thanks for making me laugh at everyday tasks! She was a little bit classier than this woman:



But, she makes me laugh, too!

Farmer's Market

I went to our local farmer's market hoping to get some of these:




Unfortunately, they didn't have any. There was a woman selling them, but she sold our before I got there. But I did get some of these:




So, I made some zucchini bread. Here's all you need:

Mix 3 eggs, 3 cups grated zucchini, 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup oil and 1 tablespoon vanilla in a bowl and mix well.



Mix 3 cups flour, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon baking soda in a medium bowl. Stir this into the the zucchini mixture.



Stir in 1/2 cup chopped pecans.




Spoon into 2 greased and floured loaf pans.




Okay, take a good look at this loaf pan.



This was a wedding present. Can you tell what decade we got married?

Yes...... the 70's!

Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until the loaves test done.




Zucchini Bread

3 eggs
3 cups grated zucchini
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 chopped pecans

Combine the eggs, zucchini, sugar, oil and vanilla in a bowl and mix well. Stir in a mixture of the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add the nuts and mix well. Spoon into two greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 325° for 1
hour or until the loaves test done.

A Little Motherly Bragging

I'm sorry, but I have to do a little bragging on my son! One of the criteria of parents is the right to brag about your children. So, bear with me while a do a little boasting about Brandon. The boy, well, actually he's a man, can do just about anything he sets his mind to. He's an excellent carpenter. You should see some of the furniture he's made his wife. Here's her post about that.


They have just finished building their house and he's done much of the work himself. Here is a picture of the tile he did for his dog, Chance's room.




Yes, I said Chance's room. My grand-dog has his own room, but trust me, he deserves it. He's such a sweet dog!

And here is the tile he put up as the back splash behind his stove top.



He has done such a great job of everything. We'll be moving him into his new house this weekend, so I'll take some pictures of the finished product and show you just what an amazing craftsman he is! He's promised me he'll put some tile up in my kitchen. After a much deserved and needed rest, I think I'll hold him to it!

Dinner in Twenty Minutes

I had a hair appointment after work, so I got home later than usual. And of course, it's hot and I'm tired and really didn't feel like fixing supper, but knew we had to eat. So, once again, I am so glad I've got my handy dandy electric pressure cooker. I was able to fix this meal in under twenty minutes. Not bad if I do say so myself.


I browned the boneless pork chops in the pressure cooker, then threw in some soy sauce, terriyaki, pineapple juice and brown sugar. Set the pressure cooker for low for 11 minutes. So, while these were cooking:


I put some rice on to cook and made this spinach salad:



My sister-in-law, Connie, gave me this recipe and it quickly became one of my family's favorite salads. It's so good and easy. So, in less than twenty minutes, we ended up eating a pretty good meal.


Here's the recipe for that great spinach salad.

1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar (you can use less)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Put sugar in container, add vinegar, and shake. All of the sugar won't dissolve, but that's okay. Then add seeds and oil. Shake some more. You can make this ahead of time then just shake very well before pouring over salad.

1/2 pound baby spinach
1 pint strawberries (or mandarin oranges)
2 ounces toasted almonds

Put the above ingredients in a bowl and pour dressing over it. Enjoy!