A Perfect Day

Yesterday I had an unexpected day off.  Those last minute kind of days are the best because they happen so suddenly that you really can't plan much. 

I slept in.  Best I could anyway between dog whimpers.  Valentine thinks you ought to get up when she does.  5:30-6 a.m.  Plus she is deaf so you can't even hollar for her to "SHUT UP!".  (Even though I do it occasionally to make myself feel better, but I wouldn't if she could actually hear me, most of the time it would of been just a loud VALENTINE!!! I love her too much to ever hurt her feelings) 

I did get up shortly after 7 a.m. and made some breakfast.  It was very yummy.  I got the recipe from the September 2010 Country Living.  Such a great magazine!  I highly recommend it.  It's so well rounded and not flooded with advertisements like some other's.  The recipe was Apple French Toast and it was for 6 servings.  I changed it up and made my own individual serving and good thing too!  I would of eaten all 6 it was so delicious!  Here is my version which is quite a bit different......and only served me~

Apple French Toast

1 TBSP Butter in a skillet

1 peeled and sliced apple into same skillet

sprinkle nutmeg all over apple pieces

Fry for about 5 minutes or until brown.

Add 1/2 tsp or so of water with a 1 TBSP of sugar and coat apple mix.  Keep frying until all water is dried.  Empty apple mix onto your breakfast plate.

Step 2:

In a bowl, mix 1 egg with enough milk until creamy but not too watery.  Whip good.  Add cinnamon and sugar (I just guessed at amount so add as much or as little as you like)  I also salted from the salt shaker so add as much or as little as you like of that also. 

2 bread heels from a loaf of bread.  Cut each into 8 pieces.  (I used scissors)

Let bread soak in egg/milk mixture until saturated but not so much it falls apart.

Add 1 TBSP of butter to same skillet you cooked apples in.  Once hot and melted add your soaked bread to the skillet making sure they do not overlap.  Flip when ready.  Once both sides cooked golden, then stir around in skillet until bread starts to look dry being careful not to burn (you may have to add a tiny bit more butter to keep from burning but not so much that bread will not get dry). 

 Turn out onto breakfast plate with apples and mix all together.  Eat as is.  No need for syrup or additional butter or sugar.  Very good! 

Serve with a glass of EXTRA PULP orange juice.

Heavenly :)

After I ate that I watched a kids movie on TV.  It was pretty good.  It was called Monster in the Lake.  That had my attention until 11 a.m.  I left the house and went shopping for outdoor lawn furniture.  We built a deck onto the house this spring and I would like to get something to sit on out there.  I met my son Cory for lunch and then shopped alittle more. 

I couldn't find lawn furniture but I did find a Slip and Slide that was on clearance so I purchased it.  On the way home I stopped and got a milk shake at a cute little Amish Store that also served ice cream.  I tried to talk myself out of it but it was so hot and sounded so good.  Plus I keep wanting to go in that store and have never stopped.  It was so very cute!  To make myself feel better I didn't eat it all PLUS I did have a salad at lunch. 

I took my slip and slide home and set it up.  They certainly are not as wide as I remember and definitely not recommend for grown up's (especially tall, over weight ones) but I had fun all the same.  I was careful and didn't hurt myself and mostly laid out in the sun on it but it was comforting.  Sounded like rain the whole time. 

Then my husband got off work and we met for dinner and went to the movies and seen Salt.  We like to watch movies and I thought that one was really good.  Good plot and it kept you guessing! 

Overall, a wonderful day. 

Photos by me from this weekend (untouched)

Just a few of the things I love about Scammon, KS

I think American's are fatter because of air conditioning.  Today it was HOT here in Missouri.  Heat index around 110°.   To think we are blaming McDonalds to!

 If we were not sitting in our cooled offices or perfectly cooled homes it would be too darn hot to eat! Those of you that work outside in this weather may relate to what I'm saying!  I remember as a little kid going outside under the huge shade tree and having watermelon.  Certainly that was healthier than what I do now! 

Usually I come home and stay inside (where it's nice and cool) and snack while sitting at the computer.  

 Besides cental air or air conditioning making us fat, (I don't want to take all the blame for my lack of self control and limited exercise!) it keeps us inside away from the neighbors.  That may be a good thing for some of us, but then again, maybe not.  Your relations might be better if you sat on the porch and had a conversation.  Shared some lemonade even. 

We are spoiled.  I, for one am,  anyway.  And I'm totally over-fed (self-induced of course).  We would all be thinner if it wasn't for electricity because we would be working twice as hard just to do the little things in life.  I found this website & liked it.  Maybe you will too. 

If I didn't have indoor pets I think I would try the "diet" of leaving the air off at home during the summer and see if I lose weight.  Maybe someday I will do that and blog my results. (I would still have air conditioning where I work though so it would only be a partial test)    I won't make my awesome critters suffer however so as long as they are alive I'll be comfortable...and possibly chubby too. :)

Re-designed by me

Meet my great-nephew

This cutie patootie is my great-nephew.  We call him little Romey.   He will be 2 years old next month.  He was born with achondroplasia so he will always be a little person.  My sister (his grandma) took this adorable photo of him watching the big guys play ball.  He still only wears a size 6 month pant but he can sure get around with those tiny legs!  My neice and her hubby live in Colorado so we don't get to see them that often.  They also have an adorable daughter that will be 6 next year.  She makes sure that little Romey does not act like a "baby".  It's pretty cute to watch them together.  I hate it that he has this disorder but love it that I get to be a part of his life!  Keep him and his family in your prayers please. 

Mowing Observations

Today I mowed our yard for 2 hours.  I like to mow with the exception of one thing.  Why don't they make a bra for women who mow?  Or better yet design a tractor with better shocks and suspension?  That's all I have to say about that. 

Otherwise, it's a good time to just watch nature, concentrate on not overturning the tractor and enjoy the day.   Today I even got the chance to mow in a slight summer rain- barely sprinkled but cooled everything off.  It was so enjoyable!  The rain seemed to piss off the bugs though...they started dive bombing me and landing in my hair and on my legs.  Plus I was a tiny bit wet so it made them stick.  yukky.  One got really stuck in my hair, that kind of freaked me out until I managed to get ahold of it and pull it out (along with some of my hair).  Besides the uncomfortable bounciness and the bugs there was much to enjoy!  Honest.  

I had a deer that walked right out in front of me and just slowly walked on it's way.  I seen a snake.  Several snake doctors or dragon flies as some people call them.  I saw some beautiful wild flowers.  Tiny purple butterflies.  Baby poison ivy.  In fact, I was tempted to take a picture of it because it was really quite lovely.  A squirrel that is getting into our old pickup truck and stealing the stuffing out of the cushions.  I would like to catch him in a photo as well.  Several tiny little tree frogs (I guess they are tree frogs even though they were in the grass hopping away from the tractor). 

The forest is so dark.  Here it was middle of the day in the middle of summer and the open area is all lit up and then the forest is so black!  It was alittle scary and intimidating.  I felt small out there.   I love the woods and love living in them all the same. 

We also have a pesky ground hog or giant dinosaur size mole.  The mounds it is leaving in our yard are bigger than my dog!  Have you seen Tremors? Seriously, I thought something would rise up out of those mounds any minute!  Whatever it is, it is really ruining our yard.  Does it ever get around too!!(or we have multiples). I bogged down the tractor on a couple of those mounds! 

So I thought I would tell my husband that I mowed today since apparently he didn't notice and it's a job he usually does.  He didn't say thank you (yet, anyway) but he did ask me if I hit the garage doors with the roll bar on the tractor getting it in and out.  Nope.  He also said he hoped I didn't leave muddy stops where the tractor would slide.  Yep.  I also confessed to running into a tree stump that I didn't know was there and it almost "killed" the tractor.  He didn't like the sound of that. He also said I should of raised the blades to mow over the mole mounds.  oops.   I enjoyed it more than working today though.  Next time maybe I'll mow and take my camera.

Time

Today I'm thinking about time.  Where does all my time go.  I rarely get anything done that I would like to do and sometimes I start feeling a little resentful of the expectations others have for my time.  How can I be this busy and my kids are grown?  Where did I find the time when I was raising them?  Seems the days just go by so fast now.  Of course, this computer sucks alot of it out of me.  Minutes can turn into hours before I know it!  Anyway, just a short blog to vent about feeling overwhelmed.  Maybe I feel better now, or maybe I just wasted some precious time!  Oh no!  :)