City Noise

Grr.

The sound of my 2.5 year old little guy who we will call "Buddy" knocking at his door or my sweet little 9 month old (I'll call her "Ten") crying because someone or something was noisy and woke them up is the worst!

I cringe when I hear sirens at night or nap time! Don't you?!?!?

In the country, loud noises just don't happen as often.  If you hear sirens you run to the window to see whose house they're going to and hope that "Thelma & Frank" down the street are alright!

Here in the city, I don't even know my neighbors names really.  Well, I do, but that's about all I know.  The guy 2 houses down??? I call him Mike the Yeller.  Yep, he yells A LOT! Most of the yelling contains obscenities.

2 houses down the other direction?? His name is Don.  He fixes our cars from time to time.  Nice guy.  Don't know his last name though.

My advice to you city dwellers with little ones...invest in one of these babies PER ROOM!


The nice thing is that they can use batteries as well! I have 2.  One for each kids' bedroom.  I couldn't live without them!

Homemade is the only way to go!

As a stay-at-home mom, I don't have an income.  I'm sure many mothers/fathers are in this position.  To be thrifty and save money...and enjoy food more, I cook/bake most things we eat from scratch.  Today, I will tell you about the homemade hot dog/hamburger bun recipe I use.  I found the recipe on Budget 101. I usually double the recipe below in my Bosch mixer. Once finished, I allow the buns to cool and then bag and freeze.  My family does not even LIKE the taste of store bought buns anymore!  

8 cups all purpose flour

2 packages active dry yeast

2 cups warm water

3/4 cup cooking oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon salt

3 eggs

In large mixing bowl 4 cups flour with yeast.

Combine water, oil, sugar, and salt. Add to flour mixture. Add

eggs. Beat at low speed with mixer for 1/2 minute, scraping bowl.

Beat 3 minutes at high speed. By hand, stir in 4 cups flour to make

a soft dough.

Turn out on floured surface, knead till smooth and elastic. Place

in greased bowl, turning once. Cover, let rise in warm place till

double (about one hour). Punch down, divide dough in 3 portions.

Cover, let rest 5 minutes. Divide each portion into eight balls.

Turn ball in hands, folding edges under to make a even circle.

Press ball flat between hands. Place on greased baking sheets,

pressing to 3 1/2 inch circles. Let rise till double (about 30

minutes). Bake at 375F about 10 minutes. Makes 24 buns.

 

 

The S word.

Yep! Surgery.

Looks like I will be having surgery sometime (hopefully) in August.

Last year, while pregnant, I found out that I have more than 1 thyroid nodule on the left side of my thyroid! Yikes! They biopsied it and said that it's not cancer (most likely). But, it is now causing1111111111111111111111g me trouble swallowing, so I must get it out! LAME! I always thought that I had an Adam's apple...but that would be weird because I'm a woman...so I'm glad it's not an Adam's apple!

Meanwhile.  Post-baby weight loss has come to a screeching HALT! I have known for a while that it's my eating habits, but writing down a meal plan and actually following it today has proven to be HARD! I am doing the old Weight Watchers program since I have the materials already and know what I'm doing (and have had so much success when I actually followed it after baby #1). Let's just say that I was EXTREMELY disappointed when I found out that I was only able to have 5 meatballs today for my lunch meal.  I wanted more so bad! Oh well. Life goes on.

We are planning a camping trip with my in-laws! I'm excited! It's been a long time since I've been camping.  The last time I went camping was when I was barely pregnant with my little guy (who is almost 2 1/2 now!)  So roughly 3 years ago!  Life gets away from you!

Joining the Facebook Resisters?

I'm trying a little experiment.  Based on the ideas in this article.  I want to connect to people more.  I know I'm not really connecting to people by typing this blog, but this blog is more of a journal for me than a way to connect.

I find myself checking Facebook way to many times a day instead of REALLY living.

I will update you as I go.  I will say that I have already wondered what is happening on Facebook without me (I've already deactivated my account).

Then, I realized I probably wasn't really missing much,





We could all learn a little from this Guy.

Back to my roots.

Yep! That's me and my brother and there I am with the silly grin on my face.  I was 10 in that picture.  This was my uncle's "garden."

Going to the "garden" was something I dreaded. As you can see, it wasn't quite the small, quaint garden you think of when you hear the word.  My family spent many early morning hours picking and hoeing and caring for this beast of a garden when I was younger.

I used to fake illness in hopes that I wouldn't have to go to the garden.

But, something in all those early morning hours must have stuck with me because last year I asked my husband if we could do a garden. He thought I was crazy and really didn't want to because he hates most vegetables.

But, I begged and pleaded. And, because my husband is amazing, he let me have a garden.  Soon, he found out that yellow squash cooked with the Our Best Bites Garlic Bread Seasoning and Parmesano Romano Cheese until the cheese is crispy is one of his favorite ways to eat vegetables.  In fact, he learned how to make it himself and started making it a couple times a week at least.

This year, we are getting started a little earlier, and can plant a few more things than we did last year.  We have planted snap peas, beets, carrots, radish, Swiss chard (my favorite), spinach, Kale, lettuce, and arugula. We have also planted some herbs (basil, chives, garlic chives, parsley, dill, cilantro, rosemary).

In March, we will plant yellow squash, zucchini, watermelon, tomatoes (already started indoors), peppers (also started indoors already), and cantaloupe. We may also possibly plant some cucumbers and butternut squash, but I haven't decided yet.

There's just something about watching a plant grow that makes Spring to amazing.

(A row of Arugula)

An Introduction of Sorts

My name is Allison. I'm a freckled face kid from southeastern Arizona. I grew up in a tiny town.  A tiny town with no Walmart, no grocery stores, no McDonalds, and there was definitely no mall.  My mom usually went grocery shopping about every other week in a town a little bigger than ours 45 minutes away.

Growing up I didn't play video games, I built forts on the hill behind our house.  I didn't go to the movies, I took 4-H cooking and sewing.  I didn't go to the zoo, I entered my rabbits in the county fair (Did I mention that I won Reserve Showmanship one year?!? he he).

In high school, dates didn't rent limos or go to Disneyland for Prom, they rode 4-wheelers and drove old beaters that their parents had passed down and graciously let them drive.

Needless to say, life was different.

It's no surprise that I chose to marry a man as backwoods and down home as I am (if not more so). My husband grew up in a small town in northeastern Arizona and loves to hunt and fish and do anything  outdoorsy. He's basically perfect! (I might be biased though)

Now, my two kiddos, husband, and I live in the big city.  Some of the culture here is a bit of a shock to me, and I want my kids to learn at least a bit of the way of life I used to know and love.

You are welcome to follow along as I share our experiences and endeavors.