Serious crash

When it rains, it pours.
I feel completely overwhelmed right now. On the bright side, my sinus infection is gone. :)
But now, my bottom left (#17) wisdom tooth is infection from the sinus infection. It is barely through the gums, but it is pushing to get out without room so it is rubbing against my jaw. Really painful. Orajel, the syringe injections the dentist gave me, and Advil are my new BFFs.
I am waiting on the local School of Dentistry's Oral Surgery department to call me back about scheduling my appointment for my consultation and surgery.
I almost broke into tears last night. It appears that my laptops harddrive crashed. My laptop has 2 large harddrive, the C: drive was rather full but the D: drive was not even half full. I don't know what happened. I went to turn it on and it went through about 3 cycles of trying to restart and do the safe mode startup. I have no clue what to do with it. I was scared of making it worse so I just closed it and left it alone. I should have known better but I don't have my pictures backed up. I don't have much of anything backed up, actually. Any suggestions on what to do before I have a complete emotional breakdown? :)
I can still read the blogs from my phone or at school but my posting will be limited until we get this fixed.

Christmas Movie Mode

In no particular order, here are a few of my favorite Christmas movies. Now, I completely understand that several of these or not technically Christmas movies, but I always watch them around Christmas time. I will probably also clarify that Christmas time for me is at least 1/4 of the year. And if I feel in the Christmas mood mid April, then so be it. =)

Miracle on 34th Street - Because of this movie, I am obsessed with the Macy's parade. And one day, I will see it in person... one day.

Barrowed Hearts - One of ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas movies. I couldn't find a good picture of it. But this will have to do. This is one of my favorites, though it is not very well known.

The Christmas List - I can honestly say that my sister and I are obsessed with this movie. It is so hard to find and doesn't always come on TV every year, but we are still faithful fans. :) Another 25 Days of Christmas, ABC Family movie. :o)

A Charlie Brown Christmas - we watched this so many times as a child that I think all 7 of us kids can quote the entire thing. But, despite how many times I have watched it, I still love it!

White Christmas, obviously. I love it, watch it all year long and can quote it and sing every word verbatim. One of my all-time favorites.

Sons of Mistletoe - a TV movie, perhaps a Hallmark movie? =)

Little Women - definitely one that I watch all year long. I like many of the versions, but this one is probably my favorite. Perhaps because of Christian Bale. :o)

Babes in Toyland - 1) It is a classic Disney Movie. 2) Enough said. 3) ok, maybe not enough said. The weird technicolor scene always freaked me out when I was younger. I still fast forward through it.

I skipped school today. Yes, I know. Shame, shame. But I am still sick and I'd rather go ahead and stay medicated another day rather than trudge through the whole week at school. I have a test tomorrow and 2 on Wednesday, so I really need to get better. Off to watch some Christmas movies! =)

Show Us Your Life - Dinner Recipes

These three recipes are so simple to make but absolutely delicious. They are my mom's recipes so I grew up eating them and, thankfully, Trevor loves them! :)


Crockpot Beef Stroganoff
1 pkg Beef Stew Meat
1 Onion - cut in rings
1 pkg mushrooms - slices
1 Onion Soup Mix
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
16 ox Sour Cream
1 pkg Egg Noodles

Put stew meat in the crockpot, covered with onion, mushrooms, onion soup mix, and cream of mushroom soup.
Cook on LOW all day.
When ready to serve, stir in sour cream and cooked egg noodles.

Campfire Stew
1 lb ground meat
2 cans vegetable soup
1 can corn
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Brown the ground meat and drain off excess fat. Add other ingredients plus 1/3 can of water. Cover and simmer 5-10 minutes.

Chicken Rice Casserole
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can Chicken Noodle soup
3/4 cup rice, long grain - raw
4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 tbsp Italian Dressing
Dash of salt
Dash of black pepper

Combine the two soups in a medium casserole dish. Add 1/4 cup water and the rice. Blend well. Place chicken on top of rice mixture. Pour Italian dressing over chicken. Salt and pepper lightly. Cover and back in a 350 degree over for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until chicken is done. Uncover and brown 15 minutes more.

Happy Birthday, love!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to
my best friend,
my sweetheart,
the love of my life,
my Gilbert Blythe/Prince Charming,
my husband,
Trevor R.A. Spence.
I love you, Angel!

I went for the kill and tried 3 new recipes tonight. I follow The Pioneer Woman like a lost puppy dog. I love her writing style. And her photos, especially of food, are just divine!
So, in honor of T's 21's birthday, I made Ribs, Baked Beans, and Potato Bundles. Trevor loved it! I was so excited. It was a great day finished with a wonderful candlelit dinner. :o)

Disclaimer: If you want stunning photos, go to The Pioneer Woman herself. MY pictures do not do these recipes justice!

The ribs were outstanding! Of course, there are a whole lot left over but we got the larger pack at Sam's for the same prize as a small rack of ribs from anywhere else. :) We'll eat a couple of meals off of this. haha

The baked beans were great. I changed up the recipe to make it work better for me. This housewife only has one oven, likes to have a meal done at one time, and can't cook at 3 temps at once. ;)


The potato bundles were by far my favorite part of the meal... which is saying a lot. It was all amazing!
And the plate.

Fall? Yes, please!

I am beyond exciting about fall. So in honor of fall, my good mood, and the lovely fall colors cast across my living room as I watch TV by candlelight - here are some cute, but inexpensive fall decorating ideas. I am quite in love with the changing of the seasons. =)

Fall/Harvest decorative storage boxes

Adorable pumpkin candle holder. If it was a little more round, then it would look like a pumpkin coach. =)

Two tiered serving tray.

I think I might try to make something similar to this. We'll see later on if I actually follow through with this.

Seriously the most ridiculously cute pumpkin salt and pepper shakers. I love them!

I think this wagon and the wheel barrow would be super fun coffee/side table decorations!

I like crosses, so here are two fall crosses that I thought were pretty. =)

We'll see how much decorating actually get done this year since we are on a tight budget, but either way - I had fun looking through pictures... and it never hurts to have ideas for the future, right? :o)
The best part? I think the most expensive piece was $17.99. My kind of shopping. ;)

Labor Day Weekend Pictures - a wee bit late ;)

Friday night, Trevor had a home game to coach at CCA so we didn't head out of town until rather late. We got to my grandmother's house around midnight. This is the sight in the den that greeted us. Caleb was sleeping on an air mattress... but he was burrowed down and it just looked like a pile of sheets. You can barely see his head in this picture. Guess the poor little dude was tired. :)We spent Saturday working on Grandmommy's house. Some of the family had made a trip several weeks back and scraped paint from the windows and put fresh paint on them. There were a few windows that didn't get done so we finished those. We (meaning the men with Grandmommy, D'Lynn and I supervising) tore down a covering that my grandfather had built about 25 years ago. The wood was starting to rot, so Grandmommy asked us to just tear it down.
My dad and I couldn't think of what to call this thing. It isn't quite a gazebo. I think it could be categorized under awning, covering, etc.
I remember many, many summer mornings spent eating breakfast on a table under this covering. And hours curled up with books. Next time we go back we are putting bars on her dining room windows - the ones you can see on the right hand side of most of those pictures. Because of how the house is built, the garage is on the left hand side of this courtyard, making those windows the only windows that her neighbors can't see. She said she would just feel more safe if there was no temptation for anyone looking to break into her house.

We went to church with Grandmommy Sunday morning and then ate a delicious lunch before heading home. I took the opportunity to snap a few photos. Our family isn't very good about taking pictures together on a regular basis. For some reason the pictures didn't turn out the best quality, not really sure why. :(

My Poppa and Grandmommy.

Me and Grandmommy

Me and my youngest sister D'Lynn GraceMe and my sweetheart. :o)

Sunday night Winnie came over to spend the night. We stayed up watching Harvey Girls, Calamity Jane and the original version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's State Fair.

All 3 of us took advantage of the holiday and slept in Monday morning. I cooked breakfast and then Winnie and I settled in to watch a ridiculous amount of Dr. Quinn episodes that had accumulated on our DVR. All in all, it was a great relaxing, lazy day.

Tuesday was my birthday. I got my free Seattle Drip coffee in the morning on the way to school. That night Trevor and I went on a free birthday date. Because of the way things are for us financially, I knew that this birthday wasn't going to be anything extravagant. But it was perfect. :) Trevor bought me "The Last Song" by Nicholas Sparks which came out on my birthday. I love Nicholas Sparks' books! We used some of my free movie passes to go see Julie and Julia and used a coupon for a free pizza, brought it home and had a picnic on the living room floor. It was so nice to be able to relax and not worry about cooking or cleaning. Trevor set candles up all over my bath room and drew me a bubble bath. It was so nice and relaxing! He cleaned the kitchen and vacuumed the entire apartment while I was enjoying my bubble bath. :)

The rest of the week was rather "normal" with school, working here and there and getting a lot of things done around the house. Trevor's team played in Meridian last night. I had to miss the game because of Pinelake's choir retreat. We went to a camp about an hour away and had a practice session last night and two today to get a jump start on learning the music for our Christmas program. I am so excited! I can't wait to see what God is going to do with this program. :) Unfortunately, I got another headache and had to skip out on most of the rehearsal last night. It is so frustrating. Anytime I get a headache - migraine, sinus or otherwise, I throw up. Which means I have been throwing up an average of 2 days a week for the past 3 months. I hate missing out on this and I despise being unproductive. I am just praying for a solution and some relief.

Tonight we are going to my parent's house for a big birthday dinner to celebrate several birthdays in our family. BJ's birthday is Sept. 3, my birthday is Sept. 8th, Trevor's and Heather's birthday is Sept. 15, and Caleb's birthday is Sept. 19th. I can't wait for my Poppa's homemade pizza and for homemade Milky Way ice cream! =)

What is in your spice cabinet?

Or spice rack, spice shelf, etc...

My Grandmommy gave me a gem! I had asked my mom for a spice rack for my birthay on Tuesday and we had talked about types and styles. I wanted something vintage, of course. =) Well, Grandmommy gave me her spice cabinet. I will try to post pictures when we get home. It is from 1970 with all of the original bottles and labels. I love it! Of course, I have to empty out the bottles, clean them and refill them.

So here is my question, what spices do you keep stocked? I love trying new recipes and I HATE hesitating because I don't have a particular spice or seasoning in my stock.

I want to use the original labels and if I have to, I will leave the original label on and put something else in it with a label on the bottom of the glass jar. ;) The spice rack includes Anise, Allspice, Basil, Bayleaf, Black Pepper, Carraway Seed, Celery Seed, Cinnamon, Cloves, Curry, Dill, Garlic Powder, Ginger, Nutmeg, Organo, Paprika, Parsley, Poultry Seasoning, Sage, Tarragon, and Thyme.

So, let me know what you think should be in every persons spice cabinet! I am open in any and all suggested.

*Post Note: For the record, Trevor's life would not be complete without Lemon Pepper Seasoning or Tony Chachere's Cajun/Creole Seasoning... so never fear - we already have those covered. ;)