brown paper packages

Did you get the movie reference from my title? "The hills area alive! With the Sound of Music! Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah." My Grandma had this movie and LOVED to watch it whenever we came over. Do you know how long that movie is? She had a VHS copy. I would make it through the first movie and then would disappear for a "potty break" and conveniently find something else to do.

I digress...

Remember my top 10 favorite things? Check it out here. Here is a chance for you to share your favorite things with someone else; kind of like a pen pal, but with packages!

Who: You

What: Favorite Things Summer Swap

When: July 17-August 31, 2013

Why: Because everyone loves receiving a package of goodies in the mail

THE DETAILS:

• Sign up by emailing me with your name and address (You can also share this post so more people can participate). 
• I will then randomly select a swap partner for everybody and email them the address of the person they will send to. It is totally up to you if you want to let them know who you are or if you want to remain anonymous. 
• Put together a package of fun assorted goodies of some of your favorite things. Jump on over to the post office and send it off, and then eagerly wait by your mailbox for your package to arrive! It's a lot of fun to gather things to send, and even more fun to see what you get!

**I would love to see all of your favorite things! Take pictures of the gifts you receive (or send), email them to me before September 4, 2013 and I will share those pics here.

THE SWAP STIPULATIONS: 

• You must sign up by July 17, 2013. 
• You must spend at least $15 (before shipping) on your package, just to make it fair. Please only include items that you would like to receive yourself--no junk. 
• You must mail your package by August 31, 2013. 

Let me know if you have any questions, and happy swapping!

book review: A Most Peculiar Circumstance

I liked this book because it was set in the 1800s and was a cutsie romance novel, but the flow of the story felt really jolty. I was and stayed entertained throughout the entire book, and since I was sick and in bed a lot, I finished it within a couple days.

The only problem I had was with Mr. Theodore Wilder. He's supposed to be a fantastic P.I. and government official, but all professionalism flies out the door once he is bewitched with Arabella Beckett. Does that really EVER happen? Ever?!

Good book, though. Cute. Short. Entertaining.

I received a copy of this book by Bethany House Publishing.

chicken noodle soup

A friend of mine just had a baby and has been having some medical issues. One of the things she has had to do is have a liquid diet, so I brought her some soup. 

One problem. 

I HATE brothy soups! My soups need substance. 

I checked out one of my SIL blogs and found this little gem. I didn't have a few ingredients, so I made do with what I had. This recipe is the one I made with my little tweaks. 

Lime Chicken Noodle Soup

9 cups water

9 chicken bouillon cubes

1 can cream of chicken soup

3 cooked, diced chicken breasts

1 tsp onion powder

3 large carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp thyme

2 TBSP parsley

1 TBSP lime juice

1 box of Rotini noodles, cooked

Combine water and cubes in large pot and dissolve. Stir in soup. Add chicken, onion, carrot, celery, and seasonings. Cook noodles according to package directions. In the meantime, simmer until carrots are still tender and add noodles. Serve.

My SIL is crazy talented in EVERYTHING she touches. I would add a link to her blog, but she's private. So, instead, here is a link to her etsy shop: A Bit of String. It is AMAZING!!

top 10 favorite things

I was cleaning house today and thought it would be fun to make a top 10 list of my favorite things. So, here it goes.

1. Netflix. I cannot say how often this little gem has saved my bacon; when I was pregnant and so sick, when I get migraines, when my son wakes up at the crack of dawn because, "the sun is awake.", when I'm so bored and don't want to move ... you get the picture. Check out the WWW for Netflix promotions.

2. Dressing Your Truth. I love shopping. I love clothes. I love accessories. And Dressing Your Truth has a HUGE HUGE HUGE part in that love affair. I feel more confident with myself and my clothes.

3. Cleaning supplies. I have a little boy who has a hard time aiming. Enough said.

4. Always Infinity Pads. I am not a tampon lover. Once was. Not any more. Always Infinity pads are AMAZING!! Besides the obvious tell-tale signs of having your period, you hardly notice these bad boys at all.

5. Whirly Pop Popcorn Maker. One of my SIL made me popcorn from this machine. Apparently I couldn't stop raving about it, because my husband and I got one for our wedding over 6 years ago! It's super fast, super easy, and super fun.








6. Ebay. I found I needed/wanted to accessorize myself because of my new-found knowledge from Dressing Your Truth and discovered Ebay!! I recently bought a bunch of jewelry and scarves, each one being less than $2.00 per item!!

7. Pinterest. I try to even out the amount of time I spend on this sight to the amount of time I actually spend completing pins. It's almost a competition with myself to see how fast I can go through my boards, which is a never-ending battle because there is absolutely SO MANY great pins on other people's boards! Pinterest is such a fabulous, viscous cycle.

8. Sharpie Pens. Yep. They make a pen now and it is FABULOUS!

9. Free Things/Sweepstaking. I love me a good deal. I love it even more when I win it! I used to sweepstake when I first had Corban (my firstborn) when I had A LOT of down-time during naps and such. Another SIL introduced me to SweepSheet. It's a newsletter that is COMPLETELY devoted to finding and sharing sweepstake information with its readers. I won a couple small prizes, but my SIL actually won a couple of trips and a bunch of swag type stuff. I plan on picking up this little hobby again when my kiddos get a little older and when Joe is out of school with a full-time job.

10. Kitchen Aid Mixer. This was another wedding gift back in the day. I can't imagine making bread, dough, cookies, and cakes without this monster. It's big and bulky, but it definitely makes my job as a SAHM that much easier.









What are your favorite things?

**These are my own opinions and views. I was in no way reimbursed for this post.

family photos -- the out takes

I feel like doing this to Corban when we're not taking photos!

Jovi thought it was great fun splashing in the puddles, but not getting her feet wet.

I love this picture, but we're all doing something weird. Individually, not collectively.

It was so fun using the umbrellas in our shoot, but obviously we were all a little distracted.

Corban had no problem getting his feet wet. He could have cared less. 

This was one way we got him to smile more for the camera.

Don't Joe and I look adorable! Too bad our kids were getting ready to throw some punches.

family photos

One of my SIL's took our family photos over Memorial Day weekend. She is AMAZING--even though she won't admit to it--and takes our photos every year. These are the ones that I like and want to re-print for our living room.

Me and the hubs.

 Family group shots.

 I can't decide which one I like best out of these two.

The kiddos. Joe and I are getting prints of our kids when they were/are 2 years-old. We got Corban's ordered and may just have to use the one below of Jovi. 

Thanks again, Peggy! I love them.

so sorry

I was trying to clean house a little and inadvertently erased comments. Basically ... I'm a nincompoop. And I'm sorry.