Chinese Knockoff

Hello again! I've got big news...you are reading the blog of a brand new Certified Teacher!!! I'm now authorized to teach any subject grades PreK-8! I'm sooo excited to be finished with student teaching and can't wait to get my first teaching job. The only problem, jobs are few and far between around here. In the meantime I've applied for a PreK aide job at the school I've been student teaching/subbing at and I'm hoping it'll get my foot in the door until someone leaves.

I ended up subbing everyday this week and I have Monday and Tuesday lined up for next week! I'm happy that I'm busy but boy am I tired at the end of the day. The hardest part is switching all about, one day Kindergarten, next day 3rd, then down to 1st....crazy!

So, I haven't had much desire to cook lately because of the crazy so I came up with a recipe that I think if you enjoy Chinese food you will love it too. It's super simple, so simple in fact I had the Hubs do most of the work. As you know most of my Crockpot recipes I've posted are set on low for a whole school day so I usually start them in the morning so they'll be good when we get home. Well, I first tried this recipe on a weekend and found that it doesn't take all day so, since Mr. Man comes home for lunch each day, I prepped all the ingredients (all 3...yes THREE) and left a note for him to follow.

I adapted this from the BBQ pulled pork recipe I post in the past but this time we used chicken. I love sweet chicken dishes and that's usually what I get when we get Chinese. When I first made, I never intended for it to turn into a Chinese dish but while we were eating our BBQ Chicken sandwiches the Hubs said, "I think this would be great on white rice." Now really this isn't a shocking statement since he could eat rice with every meal....I'm thinking although he clearly looks Irish, with the red hair to prove it, there has to be some Asian blood in there or something.

So here we are eating my Chinese food knockoff tonight and it's awesome! Pretty sure there won't be any leftovers. Sadly, he refused to take photos for me so I don't have any to post for you but I hope you give this meal a try. If you are looking for this simplest dinner this is it.

Ingredients:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Tenders (About 6)
Chopped Onion (I used the frozen kind because I didn't have a fresh one. About half the bag)
Kraft Honey Hickory BBQ Sauce (Last time I just used Honey and it was almost too sweet)
White Rice

Put the chicken and onion in the crockpot. Pour BBQ sauce over until well saturated, stir until well coated. Cook on low for about 4-6 hours. Since I got home after it had cooked for about 2 hours I cranked it up to high for 2 more hours. Follow directions on the package for the white rice. We just scooped out our desired amount of rice and poured the chicken on top but you could mix together and serve if preferred. It's that simple!

Busy Bee

Hello there whoever might actually be reading this. I never get any comments so I'm probably just rambling to myself but that's ok. This often feels more like a journal to me. So no word yet on my certification. Does anyone else find it frustrating when you send an email to someone and it takes them forever to get back to you, especially when it's important and not just a Hey, How are ya? Well, I completed all of the online training hours that my supervisor told me to but the problem is it looks like I will be 2 hours shy of the 300 I need to complete my program. I emailed my field supervisor about it on Tuesday only to get an auto response that said she would be out of the office until Friday....well today is Friday and still no response!!!

I hate to be that annoying person that keeps bugging you about something over and over but I think I've now sent 4 emails total. I took it upon myself to sign up for an additional online course to see if that will cover the 2 hours and when I got my completion certificate I emailed it to her. I know, I know I shouldn't be complaining....I've been in this program for close to 2 years now so what's just a few more days right? I'll tell you....TORTURE! I'm just ready to be down and a certified teacher. Plus, I'm currently subbing and I will get $5 more a day when I have my cert, hey it adds up people. Ok........rant over!

I got to sub 4 out of 5 days this week in Kindergarten, First and Third grade. Wow it was an adjustment that first day back since I've been in 5th grade math world for so long. I'm at is the same school I did my student teaching in and they have PreK-5th on campus so I still get to see some of my kiddos from time to time. Today was so precious, during bus time I was walking my last few 1st graders to their buses and had to walk by all the 5th grade bus riders. They all shouted my name when they saw me...the 5th grade teachers just laughed and laughed. I got to catch up with my mentor too afterwards and she told me the students who saw me each day would come report back to all the others what grade I was in. Now, how could you not want to be a teacher the way these kiddos just want to love you....most of them anyways.

Since I'm back to the life of a sub now I will say, you're day is not complete without someone telling you they love you after knowing you for 5 minutes or making at least one kiddo cry for having to change their color from green! Oh the joys of early ed! :)

I did get a chance on the one day I had off to get a little bit crafty. My mom and I used to make these ornaments all the time when I was little. She being a teacher herself would make these for all her little darlings each year and I got to be her helper. I saw them again on pinterest and never realized how easy the recipe is since you know as a kid you only pay attention to the fact that you get to get your hands dirty. I thought I would share it on here just in case you've never heard of them....although you'd probably have to live under a rock for this to happen. So, if you're looking for a super easy Christmas craft to do that will make your house smell so yummy and your kids can join in check this out!

I thought these stars would go great with our Texas themed tree!

I'm going to include the link to the blog I found the recipe on...I'm just to lazy this afternoon to type it out! haha I didn't follow her instructions exactly. I used the small applesauce packages that you would put in your kid's lunchbox since I didn't want to make a big patch. It's really adaptable so play with it for how much you want. I will probably make another batch this weekend in different shapes! 

Homemade Cinnamon Ornaments

Thankful for CVS...

Hey there! I know I've been away for a little while but I've just been enjoying my time off from school with a little retail therapy and a lot of time on the couch (after working out of course)!

As you all know I'm kinda obsessed with Coupons, CVS and Crockpots lately.....I promise it's not because they all start with C but that is kinda weird in itself....hmmm...Well, I have had this Thanksgiving CVS trip planned for like a week now and I'm so excited to come back and share it with you guys.  I think I've really lost it now...I'm embarrassed to admit I even dreamt last night about getting there today and there were people everywhere and they kept getting to all the deals before me and I ended up with like 2 things!  I know....it's really bad right?!?!?

Anyway, so I got there about 5 minutes before they opened this morning with the vision that a lot of people would be there to get all these things for free (Sidenote: I have never been Black Friday shopping so I assumed that if there is a good sale people will be lining the streets to get it...like the people I saw camped outside of our Best Buy this past Monday.....yeah). So I pull up and there were only 2 other cars and they belonged to the workers! I was able to get everything I wanted and got to take my time doing it and honestly I could've gotten more things but I can always check back later this week to see what's left.

The one thing I was most excited to get was a new Crockpot! The CVS in my town is pretty much the smallest one in the area so they don't always have what is advertised but they had this bad boy and it was on sale from $30 to $18.88 and I got $10 back for next time. However, I did split my transactions up so I could use some extrabucks towards it and not have to take money out of the bank....it ended up costing me $.04 out of pocket!!!! :) And yes that wasn't a typo...4 pennies people!

Here is a picture of my haul for you guys to see. They have a great sale running, a lot of the items I got they gave me the amount back in extrabucks so they were free and I had a few coupons and extrabucks already so that helped but still it's a great deal even if you don't have any and could help you get a really good start on couponing there if you are interested.

 Worth $127.73 paid $17.34 with roughly $53 ECB for next purchases! :)

Again, I didn't buy everything I could have, but even though I love CVS, I didn't want to spend that much time of my Thanksgiving morning shopping there. However, if you are interested in this sale I would try to find the time to slip out to your local store and see what is left. Maybe I'm a little coupon paranoid but I've noticed lately if I wait to late in the day to get to my CVS for a deal it won't be there....there must be another "Crazy Couponer" in the area! I guess it's catching. hehe

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, filled with lots of love and family fun and food! We are only attending one Thanksgiving this year compared to the usual 2 or 3 we try to squeeze in. My stomach will appreciate that I'm sure! Toodles!

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. - Colossians 3:15

Easy Cheesy!

Since I'm down to my final week of student teaching I wanted to get a few gifts for my mentor teacher because she has just been amazing through this whole process. I was very fortunate to get such a great example to lead and guide me into my future as an educator. I knew I wanted to get her a few gifts, but I wanted them to be more personal than your average teacher gifts of say bath soaps and candles. As you all know I have a slight....OK more than slight addiction to pinterest, which got some of my creative gift giving juices flowing. I gave her this first gift today and she absolutely loved it!

Now before you scroll down and look at the picture and think "Wow, she loved getting that? What is wrong with this lady??" let me explain the reasoning behind it. My mentor is a 5th grade math teacher and if you were anything like me in school, math can be pretty challenging. There are just so many different ways to solve a problem and sometimes the wording of these problems can get a little ridiculous and complicated. When introducing a new topic to our students my mentor always starts off with the same speech...She'll say, "Okay. You guys know by now that I'm all about the easy way right?" To which they all respond yes and she continues with the lesson showing and explaining the easiest way she knows how to do the work. After all is said and done she always says, "Now wasn't that Easy Cheesy?" She says it a lot throughout the day and I even catch myself saying it from time to time and a few of the kiddos say it when helping a fellow student that may be struggling. When I thought up this idea I couldn't think of a more perfect, silly gift to give her. She really got a kick out of it! I will never look at Easy Cheese without thinking of her now! :)

I just used a bag and tissue paper I already had to put my funny gift in. I found these cute printable tags on pinterest of course and used some cardstock I had lying around the house (I only had colored but I think they would look even better on white).

I started to punch out the tag but couldn't find any curling ribbon to save my life so I ended up just taping it onto the bag. I think you could make these really cute with the right ribbon!

I think all together, since I already had that gift bag and paper, this cost me around $7 or $8 dollars! I bought the Ritz crackers that come in the small packs instead of the usual large packages so she could enjoy a little at a time. It was a really EASY CHEESY gift! ;)

Quick and Easy

Good morning blogger land! I just wanted to pop in with a quick post for you guys....if there are any of you guys out there...I may just be rambling to myself most days...anyway...

So earlier in the week I decided I wanted to try to make healthier Pigs in a Blanket at home. They are one of my favorite things for breakfast at the Donut Shop but I don't even want to think about how many calories they are. So I bought the Original Crescent Pillsbury rolls and some Lil' Smokies but I got the turkey meat kind. I personally love to use ground turkey meat instead of beef whenever I'm cooking. My dad was a diabetic and had heart problems so it was easier for my mom to alter the family meals instead of just his. I guess since I grew up with it I like the taste but for those of you used to beef it may be a lot different for you, but lean turkey meat is so much better for you.  I use the myfitnesspal app on my phone to check the calories, it's become one of my favorite tools to use since I've been trying to eat healthier and lose a few lbs. You can access the program online if you want to check out all the neat features and it's FREE which makes it even better! They ended up being about 116 calories each. The rolls were 100 of it so I might try to see if I can find some that are better. I ended up eating two and that was enough for me, I even got Mr. Man to eat one and he hates PIAB (I know he is weird) and he said he liked them!  They were super easy since you just roll the meat into the crescent and bake for around 12 minutes! May kind of cooking! ;)

Mmm Mmm Good

So I meant to post about this at the end of last week but I've just been busy with student teaching stuff and didn't get around to it. Wow, I only have 7 days left until I will be an official certified teacher. Well, I'm sure it will be a little longer than that since there is bound to be lots of paper work and some money that needs to change hands before then but I can't believe how fast this 3 months has gone by. One of my students today asked me if I really had to leave...I told him I would love to stay if I could but I was only allowed to stay until Thanksgiving . He wanted to know if I would be going to a different classroom and I said no I would be done with student teaching and need to get my own teaching job. He said they would just have to hire me to be his teacher then! Isn't that sooo cute. I sure am going to miss my little darlings :(

Anyway, I tried a new Crockpot recipe that wasn't a soup! Can you believe it? I made BBQ Pork Sandwiches and seeing that there wasn't any leftovers I think Mr. Man was a fan! Only problem is I forgot to take pictures while I was making it so I'll just post the link to the recipe I used. It was another find on kraftfoods.com. I've yet to try a recipe from this site that wasn't easy to follow and really tasty! I did change a few things up however. I couldn't find the pork shoulder listed so I just used boneless pork chops (when I went to shred it it sort of became more of a chopped meat but was still very tasty). I also used more BBQ sauce because I was afraid it might start to burn with such a small amount of liquid. I think I went a little overkill myself but I would use atleast a cup instead of the 1/2 cup called for. I hope you give this a try...it made the house smell sooo good and again was the easiest recipe I've made in the crockpot so far!

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/slow-cooker-bbq-pork-sandwiches-107282.aspx

A Whole Lot of Nothing Going On...

So as you can probably tell by the title of this post....I've got nothing. No crafts or coupon tips to post. No funny anecdotal story from student teaching...just a whole lot of nothing. Oh and a nice head cold, which I hope explains the nothing........

Okay I can't leave you guys hanging like that so...

I guess I will report I had my first unsuccessful Crockpot experience yesterday but I'm blaming it on my stuffy brain and not on my lack of ability to successfully double a recipe...well maybe it was the latter, but I will say it still tasted good it just didn't look like the picture below...

I guess I'm just not ready to tackle anything that isn't a soup like consistency yet....just imagine a slightly (ok more than slightly) more liquidish version of this delicious, mouthwatering picture you are looking at. All I know it Mr. Man ate it and didn't complain so I may attempt it again when I am feeling more like myself again....

I'll post the link if you want to give it a shot.

http://mmmcafe.blogspot.com/2010/01/honey-sauced-chicken.html

A Promise is a Promise

So this morning I finally got around to breaking out the ole' Crockpot again. This week has been crazy with Red Ribbon Week madness and a class field trip I am truly thankful for a weekend with absolutely no plans! :) Time is flying by these days and I only have 3 weeks left of student teaching and although things can get crazy up there I am really going to miss all my kiddos. They really are a great bunch!

So today was mine and Mr. Man's 11 year "dating" anniversary! Gosh that sounds like forever, although we've only been married for almost 3 of those years. He was really sweet this morning and hid a card in my car so I would find it when I left for work. Too cute! Anyway, I thought it was only right that we actually ate a decent meal tonight to celebrate so I made the Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe I mentioned in a previous post. He loves this stuff so I think it was a good choice. Y'all will be proud of me too because I actually had enough brain power this morning to remember to take some pictures to post! So without further ado....

Alright so I tried to get a picture of all the ingredients you will need but I guess I wasn't as awake as I thought because I almost forgot the chicken broth until the last minute. And you'll notice by the picture the already sliced onion...yeah I got that far before I remembered the camera so you're lucky I had a moment of clarity!

Ingredients:
2 chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cans Ro-Tel (I actually only used 1 can and then used a can of dice tomatoes but I didn't want mine too spicy)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained (I added these in today)
1 can corn
1 onion, chopped
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth
1-2 cups of water
*1 packet taco seasoning 


(These ingredients are added after the soup is cooked and are optional)
tortilla chips
sour cream 
shredded mexican cheese


*So the original recipe had all these different seasoning listed but said you could just use packet of taco seasoning and seeing that I live in a typical American home and don't keep cumin or whatever it's called lying around I just opted for that. Makes this recipe super easy and remember that's an important part of getting into my recipe book.

(Looking at this picture I'm starting to think I may need a bigger crockpot. This was before the chicken was added. It was a close call this morning getting it all in there but I think it's because I added the additional can of white kidney beans.)


Put all of the ingredients but your toppings into the crockpot. Add the chicken last and make sure they are submerged the best that you can. Cook of high 6-7 hours or on low 8-9 hours. Shred chicken by stirring or remove and do this with a fork if need be. 

I like to add a few tortilla chips to the bottom of the bowl then pour some soup over it and top with sour cream and cheese....

MmmMmm it's good stuff and take it from someone that can't eat a lot of spice this is pretty mild, especially if you substitute the can of rotel with tomatoes like I did. I will say the aroma in this house when I got home hit me like a ton of bricks and I couldn't wake to sink my teeth into this stuff...I hope you'll feel the same way when you give it a try! Hasta Luego!

The Thrill of a Deal

So I mentioned in previous posts that I love couponing. It has become a big hobby for me and I love the thrill I get when I find a good deal. Now, for anyone that has seen the TLC show Extreme Couponing, I am no where close to extreme. I think I'm at just the right level of coupon crazy for my household at the moment.  I find most of my deals at CVS. I use to hate shopping there before couponing because I would go in for a few items and always seem to spend $30 or more. Now that I've figured out how to actually shop there I love it and can't wait for the next weeks ad to post to see what I can get.

The BIG thing to focus on there is the Extra Care Bucks. If you aren't taking advantage of this program yet...go to your CVS and sign up as soon as you can. I used to not even pay attention to my ECBs and I'll admit I would mostly throw them away before I started couponing. It breaks my heart now to think of all the free money I put in the trash before my eyes were opened to the savings world!

I would encourage everyone to consider couponing...it doesn't have to be a gazillion hour process like they portray on the show and you don't have to go out and buy 300 of something to get a deal (unless you want to I guess).  My family uses most of the items I have purchased and I have a nice stock of certain things that always seem to be on sale, but if I get to many of something I plan to donate. I don't need 100 toothbrushes and I don't understand anyone that thinks they do. I usually try to post my deals on facebook to share with friends but realized I haven't posted any of my deals yet here so I thought I would share with you guys.

Here is a picture of what I purchased today. Shocked that it's not 1000 Glade plug-ins? Well, welcome to the world of a typical couponer. These items were worth $50.43 and I paid $5.41 with $7 extrabucks back. So, let me breakdown what I purchased:

2- Glade "Lasting Impressions" - $11.49 ea.
1- Glade "Sense and Spray" - $11.49
4- bags of Hershey Kisses - $3.99 ea.

All of the Glade products were on sale for $5 ea. I had a $3 off coupon for each of these items and CVS gave me $4 extrabucks for spending $12 or more on these. So after coupons and ECBs the ended up being roughly $0.67 ea.

I was really excited about the candy because I wasn't sure the coupon I had was going to work since it said Halloween candy but it did so CVS had a ECB deal with these guys to give you $3 when you bought 4 bags. I had a $1 off coupon for all of them so they ended up being $0.75 ea.

Pretty exciting huh? Well, maybe not for everyone but it's fun for me and not as hard as I originally thought it would be. If you are interested in getting started I recommend checking out IamThatlady.com. She has some really great tips and a coupon database that I use for planning all of my trips. Hope you guys check it out! Toodle Loo! :)

Bad Blogger

So I've been a bad, bad blogger these last few days. I've been making some amazing Crockpot recipes and I haven't documented any of it. I'm going to blame it on the fact that it was benchmark testing week at school and I just wasn't in the mood to take pictures or write anything. Shame on me, I will try to do better next time. I can report that they were all super easy and so so good so I will make sure to get everything on here for you guys. I will mention that pretty much all of the recipes contain chicken....we are just a chicken family...well I personally can't eat certain foods after having my gallbladder removed so we are a chicken family because of me. I like turkey meat from time to time but I could probably eat grilled and /or baked chicken everyday and be perfectly happy! :) So anywho, I will be on my best behavior the next time I make these so I can post for you guys to enjoy. I can assure you that I will most likely be posting how to make "Chicken Tortilla Soup" first since Mr. Man absolutely loved it and ate most of it up and has already requested it again for next week.

Today I decided I really want to make a "Traveling" Bucket List. The man and I never get to go anywhere but I'm hoping once I secure a job and paycheck and his vacation time is upped next year we can start seeing the world together. So if anyone has a suggest of places I must see please leave a comment. I have never been out of the country and only to a limited amount of states. I really, really want to go to New York or any state up that way since the highest up I've traveled is Colorado (although I don't think it really counts since I was around 6 months old at the time and only have photographic proof of being there).

I also realized today how much I've fully transformed into an adult. Being surrounded by 5th graders all day and hearing the things they have to worry about makes me sometimes long for those High School days when my biggest worry was making sure I packed everything I need for a volleyball game and performing at a Friday night football game! And isn't it funny the things we get excited about now that we're older. I've officially become the Crazy Coupon Crockpot lady....my oh my how things change!!!

Until we meet again...

Another Success! :)

I've been having a lot of obsessive and addictive behaviors lately but it's all good things. First off pinterest has become one of my favorite sites ever. I get on it at least once or twice a day now....ok I'll admit sometimes more than that but it's just amazing. If you haven't gone yet ummm...just jump in with the rest of us, you won't regret it. Secondly, I've mentioned this before but I'm obsessed with coupons now. It's become almost a sport for me..haha...to see what I can get a deal on. I almost had a heart attack this weekend when the Hubs said he would like to go shopping with me...that's right you didn't hallucinate he said he wanted to come!!! He says he likes my new way of shopping...who knew all it took was saving him tons of money to want to spend time with me in a store! We went to Target and I bought about $70 worth of products and paid $38 but I got $15 in gift cards! I love it! Anywho, one of my favorite sites is iamthatlady.com. She has so much useful information so if you are interested in getting started I would check her out.

Now on to my last obsession....my CROCKPOT! I absolutely love how easy it is to dump everything into one pot and come home to a pretty much cooked meal! The better half is really enjoying it to! ;) I'm a little late at posting this but last Friday I broke out the Crockpot again to try another pinterest discovery, Potato Soup. It was pretty good, I personally like soups with a little more chunk to them but Mr. Man of Mine ate pretty much the whole pot himself and said to make more soon. So I've added this winner to my book...and it was really good when I crumbled a few saltines into mine so if you're like me give it a shot.

I tried to do a better job this time with pictures so here is everything you need:

1- bag frozen hash browns
1- large Swanson chicken broth -(I used reduced sodium)
1- pkg cream cheese (don't buy fat free, it won't melt)
1- small onion chopped
1- can cream of chicken
1- tbsp ground pepper

Add everything to the pot but the cream cheese.

Once it's all in stir and set on low for 6-8 hours. Again I did this while I was at work so it ended up being close to 9 hours. During the last hour add the cream cheese set it on high.

This is what it looks like after 9 hours. (I'm thinking maybe since mine ended up being a little longer than the time stated it was a little less chunky but I'm not sure).

I added shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream to mine...oh and the saltines too but I didn't get a picture of that. It was really good and if you like potato soup I'd give it a shot since it's that easy! Bon appetite! :)

Crockpot Success!!!

I'm super excited to share my Crockpot adventure with you and super stoked that it actually turned out, not to brag or anything, but it's awesome...it got the Hubs approval so I know this recipe is a winner. Thank you once again to pinterest for my inspiration. This is the easiest Chicken and Dumplings recipe and I hope you all give it a go because you won't regret it....I promise! So without further ado..let the adventure begin!

Here is my lovely little crockpot. Like I said before I have never used a crockpot before and I love that there is only two heat settings on this so you can't really screw it up!

And...I didn't think to take pictures while I was preparing all this at 6:30 this morning but I had a random moment of wakefulness and managed to snap one once everything was in the pot. Ok so ingredients are:

2-boneless chicken breast - I bought mine fresh but I'm sure you could use frozen just thaw beforehand.
2-tbsp butter (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)
1-tbsp dried parsley (I just kinda eyeballed this)
1-small onion diced (I couldn't find a small one so I used about half of a regular size white onion)
2-cans of cream of chicken
1-can of chicken broth
4-large flaky Grands biscuits (I bought a small can of 5 biscuits and ended up just using 3 but next time I may do 4)

I started by putting the chicken breast in and then I added each ingredient in the same order I have listed above. I also added a little water to my cans of cream of chicken to try to get it all out.

Alright, because I had to go to school today I set my Crockpot on the low setting at about 6:45 and got home about 4:00. Using a fork and spoon I shredded the chicken inside of the pot. It was so tender at this point it kinda feel apart on it's own. The above picture shows what it looked after shredding. The original recipe said to cook everything on high for 4-6 hours but I think everything turned out just fine on low for about 9 hours. (Sidenote-since the hubby comes home for lunch I put him to work today...well, he just stirred the pot a little for me. Not sure if this was important or not but I wanted him to check on things)

Ok at this point it's time to add the biscuits. Cut each biscuit into 9 pieces and slowly add them in. I stirred for a little to make sure they were nicely covered. Then set the crockpot on high and cooked for 30 mins. The dumplings are a little doughy compared to what we are used to but I kinda like it that way myself.

That's it! Isn't it super easy? I hope you give it a try...I'm so happy my first Crockpot adventure was a success! :) Feel free to share any Crockpot recipes you love since this is the one and only in my cookbook! Ciao

Another day....

Another day with no dollars....

So I've officially made it halfway through my student teaching and it feels like it has flown by. I guess that is a good thing because I am learning so much and getting great experience but not getting paid for it! The check account is hurting too! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I might be able to line up a job mid year but I'm not holding my breathe. Hopefully I will be able to sub regularly and make enough to pay the bills. I am thankful I have a husband who is supportive of this career decision I have made and makes enough on his own to cover everything right now but it will be nice to make my own money. Not sure why but I feel better when I'm making my own mula and can support myself. Anywho, just pray that teaching jobs will be abundantly open this coming school year. I can honestly say right now this is the best career decision I have made and feel that this is where God wants me to be. I just have to wait for his timing I guess.

Let's see....I know I said I would post more pictures of my pumpkins when I finished them....well...so far I've done 2 and I've done about half of another small one. What can I say...I've just been lazy when I get home from school. I love my little dears but they wear you out! Hopefully, I'll have a spurt of craftiness kick in sometime this week and I will get those done and post. I bought this gourd looking thing too to cover...it kinda looks like a giant pear but I think it will be cute!

As far as cooking, I haven't been doing a lot of that lately either. I basically come home and plaster myself to the couch. The hubs asks me frequently if I plan on getting up from my perch which I kindly as possible answer with a grunt of no. I am the best couch potato ever I think....if it were a sport I would win hands down....however, I have been inspired a lot lately by recipes I've stumbled across of pinterest and one I plan on tackling tomorrow is Chicken and Dumplings in the crockpot. My other half loves himself some C & D and I've never made it myself. This is kind of an experiment since I've never used a crockpot either so here's hoping all goes well.  I thought I would share the recipe on here in case you get a hungering for some! Looks good and EASY! Toodleoo! :)

http://www.bubblecrumb.com/2010/02/14/crock-pot-chicken-and-dumplings-recipe/

Black and White Pumpkin Patch

So in my last post I mentioned I've become obsessed with Pinterest.com....talk about spending time on the internet. It's like a little slice of heaven online! I've pinned so many craft ideas in the few weeks I've been on it. Probably enough to fill a years worth of craft time in (and I'm still adding like my life depends on it). Lots of cute house ideas too, if the hubs and I ever get one of our OWN! Anywho, I was finally able to head on over to Michael's and grab the supplies I needed for a fun fall craft. I thought I would share what I did incase any of you would like to give it a try! Happy crafting! :)


Scrapbook Pumpkins

So here is the post I stumbled upon that inspired me to get crafting. Aren't these scrapbook paper pumpkins so darn cute. The blogger this came from budgetbeautifulbungalow said she was inspired by a magazine. She cut out stripes of scarpbook paper and applied them vertically on her pumpkins with mod podge then once they were dry used a mod podge sealer. Mine turned out a little different.

Step 1
The first thing I did was paint the stem of my pumpkin black. I had picked a black and white design and wanted my stem to match. I purchased a funkin from Michael's that was already white but I noticed some black ones too...maybe if I do another one this size I will get a black one.

Step 2
Next I took the scrapbook paper I wanted to use and cut it into strips. I just kinda eyeballed it. The funkin I got was the smallest size they had and I ended up using about a page and a half of my paper to cover the whole thing.

Step 3
The messy part begins. Using a foam brush and matte mod podge...I'm sure you could use sparkle or gloss if you wanted...I applied some glue to the pumpkin first then placed a strip of the paper vertically, starting at the stem and working down. I made sure the paper covered the whole side and some of the bottom before I trimmed off the extra. Then I went back over the paper with mod podge, making sure it was glued well to the pumpkin. I did notice that I was having trouble with wrinkles to I decided I would cut my strips in half and that seemed to help. Work all the way around until the whole thing is covered.

Step 4
Once the whole thing is covered let it dry completely (probably around an hour) then apply a second coat of mod podge to make sure it is sealed. I don't have any sealer but if you do I would apply one or two coats the next day. **You'll notice in the picture I started this project on newspaper to protect my dining table...well in the process of rotating my pumpkin, smarty pants me noticed it was sticking to the newspaper and removed some of my scrapbook paper...luckily I had a small glass vase that I was able to prop it up on and once I was finished I let it dry on it with no problems.

WALLAA! Pretty cute huh? Hope I inspired some of you to get a little crafty this season. I love fall, it's my favorite time of year here in Texas and now my house will be nice and festive with a little bit of a twist from the normal fall decor. I also bought some smaller pumpkins and gourds and I plan on doing the same to them with different paper. I'll try to post them when I'm done and decide where their place on honor will be in the casa.

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Oh the things kids say...

So I just finished my first month of student teaching and while some days are frustrating, this experience has shown me I am on the right path in this career decision. I've gained so much already from this chance to be in the classroom and thank goodness it's with a real life teacher who has had 20+ years in the classroom. I don't know what I would do without such a great example.

I'm also thankful that I had the opportunity to sub at the same school last year, giving me the advantage of already knowing most of the students in my classroom. At this point I have only taken over for half the day but soon the reigns will be passed over to me for 4 WEEKS! I'm sweating just thinking about it. I will say I do enjoy the stories I get out of my precious little dears. Sometimes they sure know how to make you laugh, often times without even meaning to. My mentor teacher and I almost laughed till we cried the other day when I shared with her what one of our darlings said to me:

I have a couple of real math lovers in the room and two of my girls decided to flip through the book one day to see what they had to look forward to....Now, at this point I pretty much just do what my mentor does so I haven't really made a lesson plan on my own or looked further into the book to see what is coming up. (I am only going to be there until Thanksgiving break so I don't really need to look at what they will be studying by the end of the year). Anyway, one of the girls walked up to my desk and asked, "Are we going to study Algebra this year?"....now I didn't really know myself but seeing that we are just now reviewing and studying 2 digit multiplication and long division I highly doubted it...so I told her I don't think we will get to that but maybe by the end of the year you will. That seemed to satisfy her and she went back to her desk. Low and behold the very next day I am watching my mentor teach the lesson of the day and there was a word problem, not really an algebra one but it gave you all this data and you had to pick which mathmatical problem would help you find your answer, it had a letter representing the total since we really didn't want you to solve for anything. Well my mentor explained that this was like algebra...I knew it was coming...that girls head shot up so fast and she stared me down with a funny look on her face. After the lesson was over she walked over to me and said, "You lied to me," which I tried to explain that I was not aware that we would be discussing that and we wouldn't really be studying it, just that one problem. She then said, "I'll be watching you," she even did the finger motion from her eyes to mine with her hand!!! Oh how hard it was for me not to laugh then and there.....the things these kids say!

*FYI I am talking about a 5th grader here!

Anyway, hopefully you got a laugh out of my long winded story, I thought it was a good one to share. Now, on to the recipe for today. I have discovered pinterest and it has become a real issue. Not because I don't like it....believe me I'm in LOVE...I'm probably on the computer more now than I would like to admit, but Oh My Goodness there is recipes galore! I saw one of something that I've had in the past but never made it myself. I kinda forgot about this recipe and I really enjoyed it and have been trying to track it down. I was thrilled to find it on this nifty site. Ta Ta and Enjoy!

http://soupbelly.com/2009/08/03/cowboy-caviar/

And so it begins...

Hello World!

So this is my first blog post on my first blog ever and I'm just feeling my way around in the darkness.  I've always enjoyed writing and creating new things and sharing random facts with whoever will listen.  I'm hopeful this blog will stumble into something interesting for you.  If not I apologize in advance. So far I've titled it Sunday Afternoons, not necessarly meaning I'll only post at that time, but more accurately I'm hoping to portray that laid back, hanging on the couch in your favorite sweats kind of feeling.  At least that's what we do around my house on Sunday afternoon.

To tell a little about myself.  I'm a 26 year old small town girl, still living in said small town, married to small town high school sweetheart.  I'm slowly becoming that crazy coupon lady...I've even started a coupon binder and enjoy sorting my free money as I like to call it haha...I'll probably end up posting frequently about that since this is growing into a thrilling obsession for me! I have aspirations of becoming a writer, teacher, photographer, singer (because we all secretly want to go on American Idol and become the next Carrie Underwood.  Don't shake your head no, lying especially to yourself is never a good thing.) chef, book editor......well the list goes on and on.  So far I'm on track to becoming an elementary school teacher just like my mommy and I'm looking forward to the adventure.  God blessed me with the best parents.  I was definitely a Daddy's girl growing up, spending much of my childhood around football and baseball players being a coach's daughter.  Although my father is no longer with us, I feel blessed to have what time we did together, I know others aren't so lucky.

Lately, I have been trying to improve my ways around the kitchen.  It started out trying to please the hubby and expand the menu at our house and has grown in to a passion.  I plan to share a recipe with each post. I'll let you know if it was a success or failure, failures hopefully being few and far between.

So let's get to it!

Recipe numero uno is my go to recipe these days, Crispy Santa Fe Chicken, or as I call it just Crispy Chicken.  We (sorry more accurately I) probably make this once a week.  This was one of the first recipes I tried off of kraftfoods.com, a website that I absolutely love, and it meets the only two criteria I have for making it into my recipe book >>> It has to be delicious and EASY to make! I hope you give it a try, oh and I only add the salsa when my side dishes are more of a mexican flavor like spanish rice and beans.

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/crispy-santa-fe-chicken-113733.aspx


I'll close with a favorite bible verse of mine that comforts me during my daily walk with God.  Blessings to all :)

"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11