a GRATEFUL heart

I am thankful for life... and that it goes on.

For God's protection, our guardian angel, for my friend who breathed a prayer particularly for me earlier in the day...

For airbags, car seats, safety restraints, and crash-testing technology...

That no one was injured when I rear-ended a Dodge pickup yesterday evening in the gloaming...

that the couple I hit were not angry or upset...For family and friends who stopped so soon to make sure we were OK... and got my Jeep off the road before anyone hit it...and came and got my groceries and purchases from earlier in the day...that Danl was home and could come comfort us and sit with me for the hours we waited on FHP. That Danielle was not traumatized...and seemed to understand that the Jeep was seriously injured and needed to go the vehicle hospital...That the young officer who worked the scene was kind and considerate and gave me the least possible citation.

I am thankful for pecans... And that I had plenty to re-toast for tomorrow's candied sweet potatoes since I severely over-toasted the first batch! #burnt

I am thankful for family recipes with notes at the bottom. 

#auntrose #candiedsweetpotatoes #schneidercookbook

I am thankful for the MRGA Book Club. It has, and is, totally enriching my life in in so many ways!

I am thankful that Mel brought me coffee this morning and took Danielle home with her to "help" take care of Baby Ellie.

I am thankful for crispy, ice-cold Diet Coke.

I am thankful my parents lent us their extra van for me to drive until we get our insurance rental.

I am thankful for Katie's crumb-topped banana bread. #perfection

I am thankful for ibuprofen.

I am thankful for our cozy home, for the warm bed into which I am about to crawl!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, Y'ALL!

Be like me - and drink TEA!

A cup of this tea was the perfect ending to a not-so-perfect day! It's the perfect blend of citrus and spice...suitably fallish without tasting like potpourri!

Lightbox LOVE

I love my lightbox.

I'm pleased as a pumpkin with what I just changed it to! It now says...



What a perfect pumpkin pun, thanks to Pinterest!

I was rather pleased with my previous lightbox message, because I "thunk" it up all by myself!

"DONT SWEAT THE FALL STUFF."

Babies Don't Keep

Tonight was Jessica (Wenger) Koehn's baby shower... or "hen party" as I overhead Danl telling one of his buddies that he would be taking care of the rugrat while Sharon went to a hen party! Guys! Gotta love 'em! 

Anyway, it was a lovely shower; all done up so darling in vintage/retro toys, with old quilts, string lights, a coffee bar complete with a barista, delicious ham chowder in bread bowls, veggies 'n dip served out of the cutest vegetable train and Tonka dump truck, apples 'n caramel, and mini pumpkin tortes! 

Prior to eating, we all sang some old lullabies one of which was the song about "Babies Don't Keep," looked at tiny, footed sleepers, sniffed lotions and potions, and petted soft blankets... My mind went back to when Danielle was a tiny baby....and I realized anew just like those lilting lyrics that my baby did not keep! She's going on 3!!! And she's daily doing such grownup stuff! 

This morning she stood on the porch in her French fries t-shirt and diaper, (still a baby in that department.. argh.) with her little arms crossed and head tilted to one side in deep thought as she watched Daddy, Mr. Bucky, and Mr. Curtis loading up and preparing for the work day. Then she seriously proclaimed, "They not have a clue what they do'ning." 

Later on our way home from Aunt Rhonda's she sneezed, then told herself, "Scat, cat! Get outa my gravy! That what Nana says." And it IS what her Nana always tells her! lol 

She thinks Bass Pro is a "casserole" aka "castle" since it has flags flying from the peaks. 

She loves to have me sing "Old McDonald Has a Farm" substituting all the members of the Paw Patrol for the usual animals. Her new favorite song is "Down by the Station" thanks to Aunt Katie!

When she knows I'm on the last, or almost the last song before bed, she instructs me, "Sing SLOW!!!" 

She loves to hold Baby Ellie, always uttering, "Baby Ellie SO cuuuuute."

We were "helping" Daddy in the man-cave the other day, and she told him all her plans for it. "I put my crib here, baby tub here, all my toys too, and paint green and brown." She's planning to take over! 

But then, she already has. Our hearts that is! 

Meal Planning Magic

After reading At Home with Madame Chic by Jennifer Scott, I was inspired to amp up my weekly meal-planning! I've already been loosely following the popular "Taco Tuesday" and "Fish Friday" ideas, plus I LOVE a good alliteration! Hence was born the following! I chose categories that we love and eat regularly. I'm sure this would vary so much from family to family! I don't stick to this religiously at all, and totally switch days around as needed, but just having the avenue already chosen for the day makes it easier to get inspired to know what to plan and get groceries for. I do love to cook, but to meal plan, get groceries, and do dishes?! Not so much! In a way, it seems like this method would be more stifling, but it's actually been quite liberating for me!

Soul Food SUNDAY: This meal should evoke warm feelings of home, comfort food. Like fried food or Southern fare.

(Baked chicken legs sprinkled with Tony's and garlic salt, box of mac 'n cheese, Great Value dill pickles, fried apples. The recipe pictured and linked below was fantastic!)

Make Whatever You Want MONDAY: This night is the wild card! For us, it might be Chinese, soup, or salad.

(Ended up eating out, had to run to the city. i.e. Awful fake shrimp from Islamarada at Bass Pro! Wow, we were not impressed, but had some great laughs!)

Taco TUESDAY: Taco ideas are just endless! We love white corn tortillas, gently fried, and stuffed with everything under the sun! Or crunchy shells...PW fried tacos are also a fave! Or use flour tortillas, and add crunched up Doritos along with your fillings for a fancy schmancy "Dorito Crunch" taco! This night could be anything Mexican, enchiladas, quesadillas or whatever.

(Crunchy Chicken Tacos, Chips 'n Salsa)

Pie WEDNESDAY: OK, this one isn't alliteration, but I couldn't not do Pie Wednesday! So Pizza Pie it is! Either get Pizza Hut or make one at home. Or have Frito Pie, Shepherd's Pie, or Chicken Pot Pie (if only Danl liked it!) or anything Italian. And I love to have dessert pie if possible! It's rare though. BTW, those little frozen Banquet brand peach pies are really good!!

(Frito Pie with leftover chili from last Friday night. Can of Del Monte corn. I don't ever put up corn like a good Mennonite! Shhhh. And pumpkin pie, hopefully!)

Throw It on the Grill THURSDAY: Pretty self-explanatory! Just Grill It! One night I did our entire supper on the grill...grilled BBQ meatballs, jalapeno poppers, and garlic bread!

(Marinated Blade Steaks, Instant Pot baked taters, can of Del Monte green beans)

Fish FRIDAY: Serve any kind of seafood on this day! Shrimp, fish, crawfish, salmon etc.

(Cheese grits, tossed salad, Fried trigger fish...We love Captain Smiley's in Molino! So awesome to have fresh seafood so close to home! Danl likes to stop in there on his way in from work if he's early enough, and I am always delighted with his pickings! Their tuna dip is so yum.)

Sandwich SATURDAY: We grew up having hamburgers almost every Saturday, and I love to keep this tradition! Danl never tires of a good burger either! If we do want to vary, we might have Malboro Man's Cube Steak sandwichs, subs, or po'boys IF there was anything good left from Fish Friday!

(BLTs, chips, jello)

And there you have it! You're welcome for the menu plan!

http://divascancook.com/best-southern-fried-apples-recipe/

I didn't have Granny Smith apples on hand, so I used 3 medium Macintosh apples. 4 Macs would have been perfect!

Fat Pilgrims & Skinny Pilgrims

Last night I got out the old wooden Pilgrim people that I get out every year around Thanksgiving time. My school kids would probably remember them! Two of them are exceeding thin and the other two are astoundingly plump. They are so fun to have sitting around and totally spark joy. Danielle said, "Look! What that?" when she saw them sitting on top of the fake fireplace this morning. She can't (hopefully, fingers crossed) break them, so I let her arrange and rearrange them to her heart's content.

Do y'all have any fun Fall/Thanksgiving traditions? If so, please share in the comments! I'm so sentimental and adore traditions. Another fun thing I did when teaching was to have each child bring a piece of fruit for our classroom cornucopia. Then the last half day before Thanksgiving break, we would have fruit feast!

 

November Aspiration

9. 

Only 9.

 9 measly posts so far in all of 2018!

 I write constantly in my mind, but no one would ever know, and I do not have a nifty cloud-based brain drive from which to retrieve my archived thoughts! So... I want to prove to myself that I can prioritize writing again. I know I sound like a broken record, but please help me! I'm an Obliger (referencing Gretchen Rubin's four tendency framework) and I need lots of outward expectations, consequences, rewards, etc.to actually be able to meet my inward goals! So nag, pester, prod, comment, compliment, etc. IF you feel like it! I plan to banish the perfectionism that results in procrastination, and just simply write a little bit every day for the month of November! I do realize that it is now November 3, but hey! Present over Perfect! Some days I may not do any more than repost my fleeting WhatsApp status, but that's OK.

I love that it's November. October was awesome, but it finally seems to get seriously "Fall" in November, and I don't feel so fake wearing scarves and drinking PSLs! And I love the constant reminders to truly ponder on all we have to be grateful for. I love this quote below because even though I absolutely love my little life, I'm always trying to be better and make it better too.

And of course November means PIES. I just wanna make and EAT piles of pie!

I was in the office today. But instead of taking control of the day and being super efficient and productive, my computer took control of me. It was negative, very negative. I shall not further elaborate. But, I think I only have one remaining issue. I love new laptops, but NOT the stress of getting old but extremely important software to run properly on them.

My parents thought I had definitely overdressed for our 50+ degree weather today! But I digress. My long sleeve shirt, vest, and leggings felt completely cozy! Until I got too hot, but that's the beauty of cold weather! It's so easy to overdress and be happily warm, then simply shed layers as needed! I used to despise winter, but now I love it! Danielle is like me; she wanted to wear leggings today, and her sun hat! (Most popularly known as a stocking cap or toque! I'm not at all sure why she faithfully calls it her sun hat.)

Happy Fall, y'all!

Summer... by Katie

According to the calendar, Summer has slipped into Fall! 

But according to the feel of it, I do not agree at all! 

Lol, don't you love my little rhyme?! 

Anyway, Katie had written this most lovely 5 Senses of Summer poem quite awhile ago, and I would love to share it tonight!

Summer...

Sounds like cicadas swelling quiet, to loud, then quiet again.

Smells like sunscreen being applied by the pool...

Tastes like fresh garden vegetables and homemade ice cream!

Looks like trailers piled high with watermelon parked by the road with someone lounging in the shade in their camp chair waiting for customers.

Feels like well-worn flip flops 

that mold right to your feet anytime you head out the door!

Written by 

Katelyn Schneider

August 24, 2018

Guest Post! Five Senses of Summer by Marci Leatherman

 Five Senses of Summer

Sounds like bullfrogs and katydids...

Underwater fantasy is my point of view!

Meandering along with the feel of fresh cut grass under bare feet...

Mmmm cold sweet tea tastes wonderful!

Each summer rain brings that clean earth smell

Radiating goodness,health and work, 

summer is the best time of year!

Marci Leatherman

Lake Providence, LA

GUEST POST! Five Senses of Summertime by Jill Koehn

🌳Five Senses of Summertime🌳

🛶Summer sounds like a ripple of water my paddle board paddle makes as it dips into still water.  

💦When I see summer I see sparkling drops of water the boys & I splash up in pools & lakes.

🥜🥤A VERY BAD Haiku about how Summer tastes:

Peanut Butter, Milk

Cold Ice Cream in the Ninja

Add Malt BLEND ROARRR 

Sluuurrrp

🌾Summer feels like the hard earth & like the scratchy grasses I sit among while I watch the train go by in the valley. 

🍊What does Summer smell of? Fragrant blooms of my Tangelo tree



What is Summer? 

So sweet and so fleeting ... somehow it holds by far the best of every passing year.

JRK

Scotia, NE

8.12.18

The Five Senses of Summer

Summer looks like melted ice cream and sprinkles making sticky rivers down a waffle cone...

It smells like freshly cut grass clippings baking in the sultry sun....

Summer sounds like airplanes whining and beach waves crashing...

It tastes like the ice cold heart of a ripe red watermelon...

Summer feels like forever,

 but slips away like a popsicle melting on a July day...

SMF

8-10-18

Play Day 2018

Last Saturday was Play Day 2018! We had witnessed the amazing Magic of Science program the night before and the graduation of six of “my kids.” 

But before I begin to wax sentimental, let’s move on the Magic of Ice Cream! 

This year I was in the mood to make a freezer of 

Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream! 

6 large eggs

2 1/2 cups sugar

1 small box of Jello cheesecake instant pudding 

1 T. clear vanilla

1 8 oz. pkg of cream cheese

2 cups heavy whipping cream

whole milk

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 T. sugar

1 tube of raspberry pie filling from bulk food store

Mix the crumbs, 2 T. sugar, and butter, spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Beat cream cheese and sugar together, add eggs and beat until smooth, light, and fluffy. Add vanilla and pudding mix. Then stir in cream. Pour into 6 qt. ice cream freezer. Add whole milk until 3 inches or so from top of can. Use 1.5 boxes (26oz) of salt alternately with ice to freeze. When totally done, remove dasher. Spoon most of ice cream out into a chilled bowl, and layer it back into the can with pie filling and graham cracker crumbs. 

I based it off my mom’s basic Homemade Vanilla recipe, and was happy with the results! I’ve since made it with blueberry pie filling per Daniel’s request for his birthday, and it was pronounced a winner as well! 

Like usual, the play day proceeded to get pounded with rain, but we had long gone HOME per my little homebody's request! 

Let’s just say play days aren’t what they used to be for me... 

but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got married, Danielle splashed in the much-prayed-for puddles, and everyone lived happily ever after!

CURRENTLY...

(Disclaimer- I saw and saved this post idea, thinking it would be a good format to use to get me into writing again! So here goes!)

CURRENTLY... The 14th of May, 2018!  

INSPIRED BY... The moms on our BabyLife chat. #keepingitreal

WATCHING... Diesel begging to go out - AGAIN! 🙄

READING... The Four Tendencies by my favorite author Gretchen Rubin, and Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee. I started and stalled on this one, but now I’m gonna read it through! 

THINKING ABOUT... How I’m going to blog more now that I downloaded the “BlogTouch” app which makes blogging from my phone so much more doable!! And how I'm going to keep my phone cleaner LOL. The cashier at Piggly commented that alcohol works wonders! 

LISTENING TO... The clicking of my Insant Pot as it turns whole milk into creamy yogurt. 

DREAM LIFE... The one I’m living! Daniel spoiled me rotten yesterday - He planned ahead and purchased the makings for a seafood feast! Once Danielle and I were home from church, he told me to sit and relax while he cooked his amazing garlic parmesan baked oysters, grilled Royal Red shrimp, yellow and zucchini squash with mushrooms, toasted garlic bread, and poured pink lemonade! Then later he fried homemade French fries and fresh grouper! I say the way to a “woman’s” heart is through her stomach! I also absolutely adored the handmade card he and Danielle created for me. 💗 #feelingunworthy #bestmothersdayever 

EATING... Piles of plain and lemon-filled Krispy Kreme donuts! #fundraiser

DRINKING... Too much Diet Coke! 

Three Things on Thursday

I'm thankful for Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies.

They pair perfectly with coffee and/or whole milk for a quick and satisfying breakfast, even packing 11 grams of protein with 1 cup of milk! And the oatmeal gives a nice illusion of health. We all love them; they're pretty much a staple for us. Danielle often toddles to the pantry and says, "Pie! Pie!" right after glugging her milk. And I'm happy to oblige. Let Little Debbie do the cooking on groggy mornings.

I'm thankful for Perfectly Posh products!

This face wash almost makes me want to get out of bed in the morning. Almost! It's that good! Fresh and zingy and tingly. And has those little scrubby beads in it for a good scour.

Shop with my friend Jill to get some for yourself! And check out all the rest of the amazing Posh products! I have more reviews coming!

http://jillkoehn.po.sh/

I'm thankful for my boss 

who told me, "Your most important job is being a mama..." when Danielle wasn't feeling well today. Just what I needed to hear. There will always be more work to do than we can get done. 

And everything will be OK.

"Love you, Dad."

Breakfast à la Française

Today was the day to finally try this recipe which had been hibernating on my Paris Pinterest board ever since I pinned it while gathering ideas for my focus-city themed classroom years ago! Since it is still February, aka "Month of Love & Romance & Chocolate," the timing felt right!  And was it ever decadent! Sadly, I did not have bittersweet chocolate on hand and therefore had to substitute with semisweet and (gulp) even some milk chocolate! But nevertheless, it slid down the hatch very smoothly! I'm sure the copious amounts of whipping cream aided in that department... I sipped it whilst tearing off pieces of a crusty baguette leftover from Joe Pattie's that I warmed in the microwave and then toasted in the toaster oven, and felt ever so French as I enjoyed my very Parisian breakfast. But eventually the conjured images of the Eiffel Tower faded into the reality of the very American Monday that was before me. A Mondayish Monday brim-full of attempting to work from home, continuously feeding my ever-scavenging toddler, gathering groceries in local ole Atmore, laundering our soiled clothing, and preparing grub for growling middles. But looking back, it was a good Monday! Although seeing the City of Light is most definitely on my bucket list, I wouldn't trade my little world in Walnut Hill for anything! 

Bonjour!

French Hot Chocolate

The most decadent dark hot chocolate recipe that tastes just like the French hot chocolate found in Paris cafés. Intense, rich, and absolute heaven for any chocolate lover. Recipe based off of the famous Café Angelina in Paris.

YIELD: 2 large, intense cups or 4 smaller ones

 

PREP TIME: 3 minutes

 

COOK TIME: 5 minutes

 

TOTAL TIME: 8 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional, but delicious for intensifying chocolate flavor)
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, at least 70%, chopped*
• Giant bowl of whipped cream, for serving

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the whole milk, heavy cream, powdered sugar, and espresso powder until small bubbles appear around the edges. Do not allow the mixture to boil.
2. Remove from saucepan from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate until melted, returning the sauce to low heat if needed for the chocolate to melt completely. Serve warm, topped with lots of whipped cream.

The Best of 2017!

Happy 2018! 

We bring to you the Best of our 2017 backwards! 

I started this epistle long ago and realized that if I continued each month as I had done December; it would need to be a leather-bound bookshelf edition! So I chose to follow the advice of my sage stepfather, "It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be DONE." Therefore, I selected ONE "best" event for all of the following months! This does NOT mean it was the only good thing that happened each month; it was just the event I felt to elaborate upon! In typing this, I inadvertently ended up reading through my entire daily dairy, and came to the resounding conclusion that we are so blessed! God has been beyond good to us, and we have so much to be thankful for! I know that sounds trite, but it is the truth! Daniel has had an amazing, albeit busy year as Faircloth Land Services has expanded. I have enjoyed so many daily normal days with Danielle and in the office at Schneider Farm Fence. We both love what we do and we love our little girl and our two furkids! And we love you, our family and friends! 

May 2018 bring you PEACE, LOVE, & JOY.

The Best of DECEMBER....

Hearing Danielle say "Baby Jethusth" with her sweet little lisp... She played and played with her Little People nativity set. Various toys including her precious ScoobyDoo ornament from Nana got to sit in the stable next to the manger.

Date night in Pensacola eating at Outback and Christmas shopping for Danielle at Toy R Us and Academy... Daniel sure knows how to spoil his girls!

SNOW in FLORIDA! Daniel and I stayed up most of the night watching it magically flutter to the ground and coat everything in sugary whiteness. Danl woke us up around 6:30 and we bundled up to explore and play and take in our rare snow day! It truly felt as if someone had changed out our normal brown world for someone else's glittery white one! We threw snowballs, Danielle and I built a snowman family, and I made one snow angel and the hugest snowball ever which amazingly lasted for days; one ever-melting reminder that our now brown-again world truly had been whirl of white!

Cuddling in the cozy glow of our fake flames...blankets and pillows piled around! This little heater from Lowe's has been the best Cyber Monday purchase ever!

Christmas in Callaway with Alex, Ashton, and Paxton! "Fantasy in Lights" is always so fun and festive, but taking our friends and Danielle through for their first time was the best ever! Afterwards, Danielle and I delightedly devoured the hugest donut we have ever seen! Then we winded our way through the back roads to end up at the mansion of a Marriot we had booked online. Wow. Let's just say we don't always stay at golf resorts, but when we do, we stay at the Auburn Marriott Opelika Hotel & Conference Center at Grand National.

Oysters with my family on the 25th! After attacking Mt. Giftmore, we had an absolute feast of the sea! Raw oysters, Cajun baked oysters, crabcakes, hushpuppies, fried trigger fish, cheese grits, coleslaw, baked beans, 3 Musketeers chocolate mousse dessert and assorted goodies! 

Family time in Guntersville! Five grandkids age 3 and under made for some amazing times! And of course we had another Mt. Giftmore!

The Best of NOVEMBER....

Getting a new but old-fashioned style coil-spring mattress from our local Mattress Depot and topping it with a 7 zone memory foam topper from JCP! 

The Best of OCTOBER...

Family outing to pick out pumpkins from the local Pumpkin Patch following by coffee from Lava Java! We sorta just "moved in" at each location lol!

The Best of SEPTEMBER...

The much-anticipated arrival of Anthony & Katelyn's Noah Royce on September 9! We just love that little baby boy from his super long eyelashes to the tip of his toes or "diddies" aka "piggies" as Danielle would say!

The Best of AUGUST...

The Great American Eclipse of 2017! Even though our area was far from totality, it was an exciting event!

The Best of JULY...

Summer Vacation July 17 - August 1! Seeing so many of our friends and family was just truly the BEST!

The Best of JUNE...

The long-awaited arrival of darling Isla Francine to Pierre & Alisha on June 19! Our little dark-haired Northern niece is without a doubt the most beautiful baby princess ever born! 

The Best of MAY...

Hosting an enjoyable al fresco steak supper with a couple friends for Daniel's birthday! Life doesn't get much better than good times with good friends while eating good food!

The Best of APRIL...

A gun-related Saturday road trip to Americus, GA and back! Monroe Hotdogs and Krispy Kreme donuts! Yay, what a perfect day!

The Best of MARCH...

Danielle Nicole's first birthday puppy party! A "paw-some" time was had by all!

The Best of FEBRUARY...

Leaving Danielle at Nana & Pops while we had sushi from Sake for our 12th anniversary! I think the entire evening was a treat for everybody!

The Best of JANUARY...

Watching Donald Trump become the President of the United States! I never realized all the pomp and circumstance of an American inauguration! 

And that my friends, is the end!