Weekly Update
Dare I say it? I don’t know if I should?
But things are becoming “normal” around here. Not the kind of normal that I have always had but a new good normal. Especially good for a summer normal. The last 3 summers have been some what turbulent because we have had a mentally unstable child at home…and testosterone filled boys who don’t know how to handle the hormone changes. We have one of those right now….and he has some moments….but nothing nearly as bad as we have had before.
I was talking about this last night with a friend. Rob and I have had such short fuses because we were always having to be one step ahead of a certain child…and trying to reel her in….and then if something happened with one of the other kids…I think we were just at the end of our ropes. Now looking back it’s easy to see. So there has been a lot of resentment from the boys for many reasons. This summer has been “smooth like Sunday morning” …it’s only half over…..but I have to tell you that this is WAY better than how we have been living. I don’t want to make it seem like we haven’t had laughs….or good times because we have. But you just always make the best of the situation you are in…and you don’t know any other way of life…so you just live it and survive through it. This is why we have to learn to welcome change. Just because you don’t know what that change will bring doesn’t mean it will be a bad thing. If we aren’t changing …we aren’t growing.
I have been working on a few quilts, working , bible study every Monday and trying some new recipes.
Yesterday I tried this pinterest recipe:
It was a hit! YUMMY! Kind of time consuming because you have to fill each shell…but I have to say worth it. I also made bean dip from a blog I follow…it was also very yummy!
I have a hard time getting my guys to eat refried beans…in dip or burritos. I love them…..but they are also so much better for you than all the meat they stack up. Just a disclaimer that these beans are not going to be any better for you….however they are really tasty! All of my guys ate them..and even went back for seconds. So that was really good.
I also added an ingredient and changed a few things. This makes a huge 9×13 pan ( brimming full)
2 huge cans of refried beans( i bought the non fat…not that it really matters after you add everything else)
1.5 packages of cream cheese
2 cans ( they are small) of diced green chilis
1 package of taco seasoning
1/4 cup of lime juice
sharp cheddar ( to taste) I mixed this in the beans and also put some on top
I mixed all ingredients put it in a 9×13 baking dish and baked at 350 until hot and bubbly. YUMMY!
we also always eat these chips:
Juanita’s Tortilla chips. We actually call them “Crack Chips” because they are so good they are addictive. ( Rob is the only one who refuses to call them that because he won’t condone drugs in any way…and we shouldn’t be saying something like that….:) ) These chips are so yummy! I used to have to drive to Spokane to get them..but my local wal-mart started carrying them and I have converted my local friends to these chips..so much in fact that many times I get to wal-mart and there are none left on the shelf…so I buy 6 bags at a time when they are..just so we don’t run out. LOL . I think everyone else does too!
Walt & Victoria came over for dinner last night and enjoyed the recipes as well.
I also received some trade quilts from Harmony over the weekend…and I am in love! I pieced backings for a few of them already and I am thinking about adding to a few as well. I counted my un-quilted quilt tops……only because I was adding to them this weekend and I realized that my two tubs are full. At the beginning of the year I only had 1-2 quilts in the bins because I was on a mission to complete them. Then I started my Personal UFO challenge and they started filling up again…..and the trade quilts keep coming in (YAY!) and then my current projects…I may need to start a third bin….what a problem to have right?
I just seem to be in a piecing mode..rather than quilting mode. I keep thinking “Charisma you should quilt some of your personal quilts on the small frame” I actually have one on there that I work on a bit here and there. But I am not in the mood….piecing on my new machine seems much more appealing than long arm quilting in my free time. I love both don’t get me wrong…but I get two different processes…and two different feelings when I do one or the other. Right now piecing is meeting that need within me. I always get the long arm part because I do it every day….which I am so blessed to do.
Well I think that’s it for today…I have so much more to share…but I also need to get in the studio. I hope you all have a happy Monday!