Tuesday, November 29, 2011

i'm back.....

I am alive and kickin', but not for long in this blog post, because there is wayyyyyy to much I've got to do today and wayyyyyy to little time to accomplish it all!


Thanks for the emails, texts and concerns over my arm. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness and prayers! I am getting feeling back, but a couple of my fingertips are still a little "sensitive". We are still investigating. In the mean time, who doesn't like some good ol' cousin time?????????




Around here, my girls can't get enough!








This month has been F.U.L.L!

I should start by saying that the day after we closed the shop, I found myself in Hobby Lobby....in the middle of the morning....alone...wandering.....

If you are wondering why that is so strange to me, it is because I don't typically "wander" in a store.





 I am usually on a mission.








Get in.







And get out.






















I was excited and a little sad all at once.












I was there to grab some goodies for the girl's Halloween costumes.








That never got made.













But that's ok.








We were super busy and they were thrilled with the Mario, Luigi, Toad trio that they went as.








the day after that trip to Hobby Lobby, I went by my mom's house after dropping the girls off at school.






To my surprise.




Her house was flooding......





Those little pesky plastic tubing on the back of a toilet like to come loose or break so I hear.














The good news.






My mom was 1 week into her 5 week trip to Africa to visit my brother and family.

















The bad news.







My mom was 1 week into her 5 week trip to Africa to visit my brother and family.






Within, 10 minutes we had Performance  (my hero!!!! THE BEST CREW OF PEOPLE!!!!) and then my mom's insurance adjuster (awesome!!) at my mom's.







My brother's and I opted NOT to share this info with my mom while over seas. We knew it would ruin her trip, and she quite possibly would've returned.







Four weeks later and one day before her arrival and two days before Thanksgiving; we had 1200 sqft of her home re-done, with upgraded hardwood flooring and new paint throughout the house.














The hardest part. We had to completely PACK HER HOUSE UP and move Everything, Everything.....did I say EVERYTHING, into storage. Thankfully, she had an awesome insurance coverage. Oh, and did I tell you, it took like 10 minutes for her to notice. Yep, we are that good. Un-packed her and placed every little item back where it belonged, thanks to my many pictures I took before packing and wonderful help from my brothers, friends and family there to unpack and place/hang  it all :)







She was shocked. Thankful we didn't tell her. And excited for the new upgrade.








 We had some good cousin time this month as you can see from above.








So, many of you have asked me....."well, what's it like?, what are you doing with your free time?" Well, honestly, it just started :)

Thinking the Lord gave me something to do over the last month to keep me going strong. I am very Thankful.




And on a different note. It's chilly outside. Last night I made my FAVORITE soup! I love the Chicken and Gnocchi soup from Olive Garden, so last year, I decided I would try to re-create.......




LOVE.



This is what you will need........



add 1 stick of butter to medium heat in LARGE stockpot.



Add 3 chopped Celery stalks, 4  chopped carrots and 1 clove a garlic (chopped)....sprinkle with 1-2tsp of salt and Simmer for 20-25 mins.



Take your Rotisserie Chicken and shred it. Add all of it to the pot.



Add 2 1/2 cans of the LARGE chicken broth.And crank heat to med high and simmer for another 20 mins.



Add your LARGE whipping cream (slowly stir in) and 4-5 basil leaves (slightly chopped). Add your Gnocchi (two packages) gently against the side so it won't slosh up and splatter soup everywhere.




We enjoyed ours with hot ham (left over from Thanksgiving) and swiss sandwiches!! IT IS THE BEST!


 Hopefully, be back soon with a camera full of recipes and other adventures we seemed to squeeze in during this crazy month!


Enjoy!

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