It Was Too Nice To Stay Home


There is nothing like getting  a text from a dear friend at 0900 on a Wednesday asking if you want to do something.  At the time of the text, I was trying to figure out what I was going to blog about.  I also had some housework, and a load of other things on my to do list.

Ikea is what we did, and it was fun to hang out with my friend.

013This picture is proof, that you can go to Ikea, and spend less than 15 dollars.

I cannot get enough of these towels.  These are my second set.  The colors and the pattern make me smile.  I always need bowls, and my little bit picked them out in this color.  Drinking out of a straw makes everyone happy in this house.  Bendy ones make us giddy.

Last, a bright yellow spray bottle for my Dr. Bronner’s soap concoction.

We ate lunch, made plans for summer, talked about clothes, and did not at anytime talk about anything serious.  It was perfect.

The week has been kind blah for me.  The girls last day of school is today, and I am in a panic with the grocery list, and getting the house super clean.  I am probably hosting my nephews graduation, and I need to get my front porch and back patio looking pretty.  All the bad weather and the devastation it brought.

This little trip was just what I needed to wash away the funk and start fresh.

Plus, I sound some cute curtains to buy on my next trip!

 

I Will Keep Him


We have baby bunnies in our back yard.  Mr. Kell has been keeping an eye on them, and making sure that the mommy is getting enough food.  He leaves vegetable scraps from our meals almost every night.  Animals have this thing about showing up to our house when they are in need.  It has to be Mr. Kell.  I am not an animal person.

Last night there were horrible storms in the area, and we were worried that the bunnies would drown.  Their mommy built them a nest that is in a covered up hole in the ground.  Mr. Kell noticed that the mommy beefed up the nest like she knew a storm was coming, but he wanted to do something more.

So he put a table over the nest to keep the area as dry as possible.  He even went out there a few times to make sure the rain was not hitting the nest.

After that was all said and done, I was sitting on the couch craving a cup of coffee, and he made me a cup.

For a man that doesn’t drink coffee, he sure does make a mean cup.

I guess after 22 years I will keep him around.

 

Happy Nurses Day


I used to think I chose this profession, but it chose me.  I love what I do.  We are an intelligent and twisted group of people.  We care for you and your loved ones when they are ill.  We hold your hand when you are scared.  We stay with you when you are dying.

We work long shifts, sometimes without meals or even getting to use the bathroom.

We chart and chart and chart, but we also have a ton of fun.

We tell the best stories.

I will never forget the first time I cared for a patient as a nursing student.  I was hooked.

I will never forget the first patients life I helped save.  I was hooked.

I will never forget the look on my patients face when I told him he was getting a new heart.  I was hooked.

I will never forget my first patient that died.

I love what I do, and I am thankful I get to say that about my job.

So, if you have a loved one in the hospital, nursing home, doctors office etc, say thanks.

We did not choose this job, it chose us.

Now, on a less serious note, I found some hilarious cards on e-cards, and I thought I would share them with you.

Happy Monday!

I Was Going To Be Productive, Then I Decided To Watch Hoosiers


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  • I will never not watch that movie.
  • It completes me.
  • I basically cry all the way through,
  • I feel the excitement.
  • Plus Gene Hackman and Dennis Hooper.
  • Do not even get me started.
  • When the kid tells coach at the state game “I’ll make it.”
  • Again tears.
  • Mr. Kell got a new truck today and he is excited about a CD player.  He pulled his giant box of CDs out of the closet last night and was reminiscing.
  • He was quite the headbanger back in the day, and I can guarantee he will be listening to Pantera on the way to work tomorrow.
  • Then he will listen to Shooter Jennings.
  • I love that about him.
  • He used to have the most wicked goatee.
  • Now he sports a sexy salt and pepper beard.
  • The closer we get to summer, the harder it is for me to get the girls to sleep.
  • My little bit is practicing packing her lunch box, and back pack for kindergarten.
  • I need to get my butt in gear and finishing schooling her in her letters and what not.
  • Mr. Kell will have to walk her to her class.
  • I am tearing up right now just thinking about her sitting at her table in a classroom.
  • Tears people.
  • Then I will go home and sit in silence, and plan the rest of my life.
  • Why have I never eaten gnocchi?
  • Potatoes people.
  • I was J.Lo when J.Lo wasn’t cool.
  • I am trying to find the perfect navy blue and it is seriously taking me a long time.
  • I have a date with some sand paper and an old cedar chest.

Bye

A Before And After


Who doesn’t love a good before and after?  It is so awesome to see the transformation, and for me gets my creative juices flowing.

The before and after I am going to show you is not your average before and after.  I decided to be a little different.

Before:

002I bought a bad batch of apples at Walmart last week.  I was so upset because produce is crazy expensive, and the least they could do is check the fruit, or at least not throw around the bags.

Anywhoo, when I have bruised apples it means one thing.

It is time to make a pie!

My favorite pie is a chocolate pudding pie,but apple pie is a close second.

I used this recipe after searching awhile on the internet.  You can really never go wrong with a recipe from Martha.

I did not make the dough, and used about 6 apples.  I also added a little nutmeg.

The house smelled delicious while the pie was cooking.  Mr. Kell came home early, and when he saw the pie there was a smile on his face.

Now, all this talk about pie makes me eager to show the after.

After:

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008

010Yummy, yummy, pie, and I have to report it tastes great.

I really enjoy baking.

 

Happy Monday!

 

My Girls Are Awesome


My girls and I do all sorts of things together.  I include them in just about everything that I do.  If I complain about wanting my own time, it is usually my fault because I choose to take them everywhere with me.

We craft, we shop, we eat.

We sing, we dance.

Recently we spent some time at the square to take pictures and buy some used books.

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IMG_4400These girls love life just like their momma.  I cannot wait till summer!

 

The Day Called For Tater Tots


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  • The day also called for a Margarita.
  • I am tired of picking things up just to find them out and about again.
  • Blah, blah, blah, the whining of a stay at home mom.
  • I think I dropped everything I was doing today at least once.
  • At least the grocery store was empty.
  • Of course it was empty, it was 0845 in the morning.
  • I have to say it is my favorite time to go shopping.
  • Now if I could get Home Goods to open that early.
  • I love this song.
  • The Rangers are in Cali which means that the games do not start till 9pm.  Do they not know that I am tired by then.
  • Really tired.
  • Especially after drinking a margarita.
  • The day would have been a total bummer, but I saw this.
  • Between Thor, Iron Man , and the new Superman I will be in super hero heaven.
  • Mr. Kell assures our girls that he is the only man for me.
  • We will be married for 12 years this Sunday.
  • We have been together for 22 years.
  • I have to think of something good to get him.
  • I would really love to get a cool picture of our initials he painted on the bridge when we were in high school.
  • Unfortunately it is off of the highway in a not so safe area.
  • Anywhoo, I am hoping for a brighter day.
  • I am going to buy paint and sand paper.
  • I am going to drink a caramel macchiato.
  • I am going to clean floors and laundry.
  • I may even eat more tater tots.
  • It worked for Napoleon.

 

Views From My Couch


I usually sit in the same spot on the couch.  It is next to the window that I always open, so I an feel the breeze and listen to the outdoors.  It an be very relaxing.

It has to be relaxing when this at anytime could be my view.

001A girl playing on my phone.

005A girl practicing her skills.

006A girl being silly.

019A girl who inspires me when I watch her on the tele.

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021A huge mess that this girl had to pick up yesterday.  Yep, it was all picked up just to be destroyed again.  Oh the life of a mommy.

I love it.

I really do.

I wish every now and again though that I had a magic wand or could wiggle my nose and the mess would disappear so I could sit around and read all day long.

Or watch Beauty and the Beast.

 

 

Future Homemaker Of America


Do they even have that organization in high school anymore?

Anywhoo.

My little bit and I had a great time yesterday.  It started with brunch at Cafe Brazil with some ladies from work.  I had chicken fried steak with two eggs over easy, and roasted potatoes.  I eat this meal once a year, and it is so good.  If you are ever in the Dallas area, I recommend visiting the one in Deep Ellum.  It has tons of atmosphere, and if you do go, you really need to eat the chicken crepes.  Seriously people, they will change the way you view the world.

A visit to the flower shop, then home to make some cookies.  I realized that it had been ages since I made cookies from scratch.  Everything comes in a tub or a tube for convenience these days,so it was just easier to succumb to the peer pressure.

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This little girl did not want just any cookies, she wanted homemade cookies.

023I grabbed all the ingredients, and we spent the next 15 minutes destroying my clean kitchen, and had an absolute blast.  Please excuse the corn starch, I do not know why I grabbed it, it does not belong in my combo chocolate & peanut butter chip cookies.

026_edited-1You must be fashionably prepared to cook in my kitchen.  My mom made aprons for all the girls this past Christmas.  Too cute!

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Little bit had to do every little thing by herself, down to the cleaning of the dishes.  So, being the  lazy wonderful mother that I am, I obliged.

036She rinsed all the dishes, and put them in the dishwasher.  Now if  I could just get all the girls excited to clean dishes, I could spend more time drinking margaritas, and eating Nutella.

The cookies were a success, and Mr. Kell even liked them.

It got me thinking about baking other goodies for my kids.  There are so many healthy snack recipes out there, and I really do like to bake.  It would also be something to keep me busy, and give me a reason to buy a few new things for the kitchen.  Which is the best reason of all.

Another reason would be…..

028aGetting to cook with this sweet girl again.

p.s.  I used this recipe for the cookies.

Have a great Thursday!