MckLinky Monday -Fav. Crockpot recipe

For today's MckLinky Monday with the RHOK -Mrs. Priss would like some help for her friend Amy and wants to know your favorite crock pot recipe...

Well, although I know there are many things you can make with the crock pot -I'm a bit old fashioned especially this time of year I love to make stews and soups -So, that's pretty much what I make.

Here's a good and easy stew recipe from my Gma:
Ingredients: Ground Beef (about 1 lb)
Potatoes - cubed
Carrots - sliced (potatoes and carrots about 1 per person)
2 cans French Onion Soup (Campbell's optional)

Brown meat; Then add all ingredients into crock pot -cook until veg. are done -you may actually want to have the veg. cooking for awhile before you add the meat -it can take several hours to get the veg. to cook well. Especially yummy if served with cornbread :)

Another 1 of my favorites is this:

Zesty Minestrone soup from Kraft -Which I've mentioned on here before along with other recipes -if you wanted to check out some more - Happy Monday :)

Wordy/Wordless Wednesday -5 yr.old Birthday party

My son turned 5 last week and I thought it would be great to celebrate it the same way we celebrated my daughter's 5th Birthday -at Chuck E. Cheese! -The top pictures are from my daughter's birthday party there -a few years ago and the bottom pics are from my son's birthday party there Saturday!

I figure it's a milestone birthday and instead of a small family party we usually have -we can invite some of his classmates seeing as how he's in school now and have a birthday bash at Chuck E. Cheese! And it's kind of cool that both of my kids had their 5th birthday parties there :) It's funny how some things are still the same and some are different. The party room used to be sectioned off more and it used to be a paper birthday crown- now they have a fancy blowup crown (you can see where Chuck E -crowned my son) and the crown even holds extra tokens for the birthday kid! They also take the birthday kid into the "ticket blaster" now -my son was not sure about that. I love how they have a designated host to help with the party and of course as always it was a great time- the kids had fun- it was a great birthday party!
Have a great Wednesday!

This past week...

Whew -This past week has been busy! I haven't been as active on the blogs lately - Sorry if you missed me ;) - So, what all has been going on here you say? Here's some pics to give you an idea:
So, the kids finally went back to school last week -(And it was the kind of week where it seemed I spent more time at my son's school than at home) - They had the class Valentine's Party, I brought cupcakes and juice drinks to my son's class for his B-day, attended the student of the month assembly -Yay to him for being 1 of the kids to get this honor! , Oh and we also had a parent teacher conference-which went fine. And speaking of his birthday -of course we had a birthday party for him -at Chuck E. Cheese (more about that tomorrow :) And of course some of the in-laws came in to town for the party -Which means we had house guests over the weekend -My BIL and his fiance left after the party; my SIL and her boyfriend just left yesterday. We went to the zoo Sunday and have been out and about a lot with them -Glad to hopefully be getting back to normal! Oh and the bad news -my hubby's car went kaput! We got it towed and looked at but, it will be really expensive to fix -so, we're just going to look at a "new"/used car -soon -For now my husband will have to bum rides to work. So, yeah that's what all has been going on here -Like I said -Whew!!

MckLinky Monday -Trips on a tankful

With Spring Break coming up Mrs. Montgomery from the RHOK asks -"What's some places to visit a few hours from your home?"

Well, as most of you know I live in Tulsa,OK and there are quite a few great things here in Tulsa. With that being said there are quite a few good places to visit not too far away as well -Here's not just 1 idea but, a few...

Going South and East about an hour away is Muskogee,Ok -in fact Muskogee has been named 1 of 12 distinctive destinations -you can even vote to make it number 1 until March 15,2011

I always like to visit Honor Heights park there's also the 5 Civilized Tribes Museum nearby among other attractions.

Another idea is taking a trip down historic Route 66 -You could go East or West -If you go west there's a popular restaurant you might've heard about POPS also near there you can also see Arcadia's Round Barn
And last but not least going even further west about 3-4 hours away is Lawton, Ok - 1 of the main attractions there is the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge where you can see buffalo, hike the mountains,-etc. There's also the historic Mattie Beal Home you can visit.

So, there you have it some fun trips on a tankful in Oklahoma :)

Be sure to join in the MckLinky Monday with the RHOK and share some trips on tankful!

Wordless Wednesday - A snowy peek -a-boo

Although the snow has almost melted now -Here's a few more pictures I took when it was snowing the other day -it was so cute how the squirrel was under the hammock playing a little peek boo in the snow - Happy Wordless Wednesday! :)

MckLinky Monday - Celebrating Valentine's Day

Today on the RHOK Mrs. Bundy wants to know -"How do you celebrate Valentine's Day?" Depending on what day it falls on - generally the hubby and I celebrate the weekend before -like this past weekend...

Once the babysitter (my sis) and pizza got here -The hubby and I went out. I think everyone was ready to get out of the house because we battled traffic- oh -and we also battled Snirt:

But we finally made it to our destination: Even though it was pretty busy we got there early enough that we only had to wait about 20 minutes -and then Mmmm - as always yummy food! They did make a minor mistake that our main meals came before our soup and salad -they were very apologetic and even offered us a free dessert -which we did take up their offer ;) Generally when we have a date night we eat and see a movie or something - There wasn't a lot of movies that we agreed to watch -but we did decide to see The King's Speech -But, 1st we had a little time before the movie was to start -so, we stopped here: We needed to pick up a few things and I picked out a few little Valentine presents for the kids as well. Then we watched the movie -I had previously made my case that it seems everyone says it's a good movie and it is Oscar nominated -etc. -Which it was a pretty good movie! Then we made it back home. Even though it was about 10pm the kids were still awake- we got them settled in, talked with my sis a little bit, and caught some of SNL before she left and then we headed to bed ourselves. The following day -Sunday (yesterday) I went ahead and gave the kids their Valentine gifts/candy -and we had fun sharing the conversation hearts and getting cards ready for my son's Valentine's party at school today. And that's how we celebrated Valentine's Day - How about you? Be sure to join in the Mcklinky Monday on the RHOK and let us know -And Happy Valentine's Day! :)

Wordless Wednesday - Snowday Entertainment

As mentioned before it's Snowklahoma around here -The kids have been out of school for over a week now! Cabin fever has set in even though we did make it out the other day - Sure, we've been keeping busy -playing in the snow, playing games /lots of Wii time (I think I'm getting Wii elbow ;), watching tv/movies -etc. - But, still torturing playing with our cat sure is some fun snowday entertainment too =D

MckLinky Monday - 5 pet peeves

For today's MckLinky with the RHOK Mrs. Coco is sharing some pet peeves -and asks -"What's 5 pet peeves of yours?" ...



1st -Right now I have to say -SNOW! -Whew-just had to get that off my chest! -The kids are once again out of school -have been for about a week -and with more snow expected soon -not sure when they'll go back!



2. You know a lot of "little" things don't bother me so much -It's mostly character issues that bother me -Like : Rude people! I think if someone is making an effort to be courteous you should do the same.



3. I also think that a lot of issues stems from another problem -Lack of communication! I'm sure most of us have experienced frustration out of lack of communication -whether it's from a personal relationship or more of a business relationship. Oh and another thing to add to this is -communication is a 2 way street -talking AND listening.



4. Say what you mean and mean what you say - Along the same lines as communication -I know it can be kind of tricky sometimes though -Sure, there are times to sugar coat somewhat and not be straight out rude - but, say what you need to say as diplomatically as possible is all.



5. Ok so, about the only other thing -Non snow and communication related that peeves me is... Not having light! - Let me explain - I feel our house is kinda dark -During the day I open the shades and turn on a few lights -Other people that live in this house would probably sit "in the dark" all day -not open shades/ turn on lights - I only have it "dark" when we're watching a movie (sometimes) or going to sleep - and that's it.



Now it's your turn - Join in and share - What 5 things irk you?!

How was your Groundhog Day?

Groundhog Day - I know for me it brings to mind a couple of images:

Yep the Groundhog that either sees his shadow or not and Groundhog Day -The movie. Well, let me tell you that I am so thankful that the groundhog Punxsutawny Phil did not see his shadow! Because it's been Snowklahoma around here and actually the big snow storm has hit about 30 states -So, our Groundhog Day went something like this:

Which is kind of fitting for Groundhog day because this week reminds me of a couple weeks ago -Can we say 2nd verse same as the 1st! I mean really a couple of weeks ago we were going along with our normal schedule -excited to learn that my son would get an award Friday at the school assembly -until -Boom -Snow hit and school was cancelled! Now this week granted we've had a lot more snow -like a record breaking 14 inches of snow! -But, we've been at home for days now and school is officially cancelled for the rest of the week -and the reschedule of the assembly will have to be rescheduled! Can someone please stop this Groundhog Day -now?! That is all.

P.S. Hope your staying safe and warm! :)

Wordless Wednesday -RHOK'n Out

Yep, I went last Friday evening to RHOK Out! It was a fun evening at The Full Moon grill and bar -After chatting and eating the dueling pianos started -I didn't quite know what to expect since I'd never been before -it was pretty cool how they played and put their own spin on different songs. I know I can kinda be a wallflower but, I had a good time seeing everyone and even meeting some new people -IRL! As you can tell I got a few pics to share -there's more on other blogs and on the RHOK's FB page -you might even spot me ;) Anyways even though this Cinderella left the ball a little early -it was a RHOK'n evening :)