The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY (August 17,2009)...

Outside my window...Another beautiful day that the Lord has made!

I am thinking...of the great weekend we had.Friday night my sister kept my kids for me so Joe and I can go out on a date.It was so much fun!Saturday we had a block party at church,served free hot dogs and nachos and handed out free school supplies.Can you believe I didn't take not.one.single.picture. I can't believe it either! I think it was one of the best block parties we ever had.
I just looked at our ladies church blog and they have posted pictures of the block party here.

I am thankful for...my family.

From the kitchen...spaghetti dinner,need something quick and easy tonight.

I am wearing...a gray around the house dress.It's so comfortable and the perfect thing to wear for cleaning and doing laundry.

I am creating...A portfolio of some pictures I have taken these past few weeks.I'm loving it.

I am going...to church tonight for sign practice and it's Meet the Teacher night at the school tonight.I'm upset I won't be able to go,I always like to go meet the teachers before the first day but hubby will have to take the kids this time.

I am reading...Love&Respect By Dr. Emerson Eggerichs.A great book for married couples!

I am hoping...for some rain soon and I am hoping we get to go see my mom and my brother in early September!

I am hearing...it's actually quiet right now.yes,the kids are home but they are in separate rooms so it's nice and quiet.
Around the house...kids are cleaning up their rooms(Sara will have a friend sleepover tonight), laundry needs to be done and Caleb needs to mow the yard.

One of my favorite things...taking a walk in the park.I love the excersize!

A few plans for the rest of the week:Getting ready for the kids to start school this week.I can't believe their summer is already over.

If you'd like you own SWD,click here.
Have a wonderful Monday!

The Gaylord Texan

I spent yesterday with my sister again taking the last of my nieces pictures.We had to go somewhere indoors since it was so hot outside and decided to go to the Gaylord Texan Hotel.It's always a fun place to go during the summer.Even if you're not staying at the hotel you can go just to walk around and enjoy the scene.They have several different entertainers like balloon artists,face painting,musicians and stilt walkers.Inside they have pretty indoor gardens,restaurants and a train exhibit.This is the inside of the hotel.Here's Sara getting her balloon animal.

My niece picked a butterfly hat.Can you tell she loved it?I don't think the little girl behind her did.
This cute little monkey(his name is miki) was there too,taking pictures and doing shows.
He's jumping through the ring of fire! Ha!

After the show,the kids got to take pictures with him.Well today I'll do the rest of my back to school shopping for the kids and Saturday,we plan on packing a pic nic lunch and taking the kids to the Dallas Arboretum.Right now the tickets are only $1 through the month of August.Regular price is almost $10!
Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Monday

Hello everyone! How was your weekend? We had a good weekend.Nothing special just stayed home and worked on our front yard and cleaning out the storage room. I had a few boxes of clothes and other garage sale items but I'm tired of it taking up space I don't have so I'm going to donate it to our church block party we'll have in a few weeks.Hubby's gonna start on trying to expand the kitchen a little.I can't wait! My kitchen is very small and any added space will help.Oh,my dad stopped by for a few minutes on Saturday.I haven't seen my daddy in a long time so( a long time for me is a couple of weeks)I was really happy to see him!
The kids go back to school soon so I'm still trying to get all their school supplies and uniforms shopping done.They say they're not ready to go back yet but I think they kinda can't wait to see all their friends again.We didn't get to go on a family vacay this summer but we're planning on saving it till this November(Lord willing)We want to take the kids to DisneyWorld and go and visit my oldest sister,she lives in Tampa and the last time I was there I was 15 I think.I have about 4 or 5 nieces and nephews I've never met before!Sad isn't it?We'll see how that plan goes.

I'll be taking more pics of my niece this weekend but that will be in her dress so I'm excited about that.
Tonight I've got sign team practice and ladies prayer meeting.I just wanted to let everyone know what I've been up to.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday!
Hugs,
Monica

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY July 20,2009...
Outside my window...It is raining.We finally have relief from the 100+degree weather.

I am thinking...of how this year has just flown by!Before we know it,it'll be Christmas!

I am thankful for...my husbands job.So many people I know are without jobs and I'm thankful that my husband still has his.I'm also thankful for friends and the good times that we have with them.(Pictures below)

From the kitchen... Ham and turkey sandwiches and fruit and cottage cheese.

I am wearing...white t-shirt and gray pajamas

I am creating...signs for our children's prayer revival at church this week.

I am going...to sign team practice tonight.

I am hoping...to get a new bike soon!I've been wanting one for a while and I found one last night on the internet.It's not exactly what I wanted but this comes close.Look how cute it looks with a basket.


I am hearing...Girls laughing,boys making a club house and video games.The kids had some friends over for a sleep over.

Around the house...I've got laundry to catch up on.

One of my favorite things...Capturing memories on camera.

A few plans for the rest of the week:It'll be a busy one.We've got practice tonight for sign team and then for the small skits we'll do for the children's prayer revival.Tuesday night the youth ensemble will practice a new song for Sunday morning,Wednesday night is reg church service and the start of the children's prayer revival on thru friday.Saturday I hope to have a nice relaxing day with the family.

Friday night,some friends invited us to dinner to celebrate their anniversary.We went to one of my favorite restaurants,PF Changs.Here is the happy couple.And another happy couple.
And another.Ha!Don't know why my husband looks like that in this picture!

These are my favorite!Lettuce wraps.There was 10 of us and we were in a booth so space was tight but it was still fun!
Here's my other favorite,for dessert,we hadBanana spring rolls with coconut and pineapple ice cream! these are soooo good!

My friend had a strawberry cheesecake shooter and also a tiramusu.
We had a great time!Thanks Jess for inviting us to share your special day with you guys.I love y'all and wish you many more happy years of marriage!


Saturday,several of the Sunday school teachers met at the church to go over the skits for the children's revival and to work on our classrooms.It was our Sunday school director? coordinator? (I don't know what you call it but she's in charge of our Sunday school department)birthday and we surprised her with a small party before we got to work.

They gave her this beautiful cake.
Hope you had a great birthday Sis.Kim! I feel your pain,I just turned.....ahem, 21 a few months ago too!
Wink-wink ;)

Sneek Peek

So I got the ok from my sister to post some of the pictures I took of my niece last Friday.
She is having a quinceinera in October.It's just like a Sweet 16 birthday party but we celebrate when they turn 15.I'm in charge of invitations so I wanted to take some pictures that I can put on the invitations.I'll just show you two.what do you think?
We had so much fun when we were taking these pictures.I got to spend the day with my nieces which I hardly ever get to do.While we there, Caleb tripped and fell into a rose bush and got stuck with thorns in several places including his side (by his ribs) and on his hand.I had to use a tweezers to pull out the one in his hand whats weird is that he started feeling sick right after he got stuck.He got pale and almost threw up.He laid in the shade for a while cause he said that made him feel better.It went away soon after that.Any one know why that happened??
Tuesday he got a MARA appliance put in his his mouth and it is so uncomfortable for him.
He's having a hard time chewing food so I've been making mashed potatoes,cream of wheat and anything else that is soft.I feel bad for him and I'm thinking that if it dosen't get any better I'm going to have them take it off.
Can't wait for the weekend,it has been SO hot outside and we spend our whole day inside all week, so Joe's taking us out Friday night and he said the kiddos can plan our Saturday.Yep,that means we'll be eating snow cones for breakfast on Saturday! LOL! It'll be fun to see whta else they come up with.
Hope everyone is having a great day!
Monica

TATT -- Chicken Sausalito

This is a new recipe I tried last night and it was a hit with the whole family.

olive oil
3-4 chicken breast,chopped
1/2 c. onion chopped or a little less(your preference)
1 teaspoon garlic,minced
1 can(15 oz.) black beans,rinsed well and drained
1/2 c.mild or hot salsa-I used Pace
1/2 c.sour cream( you can used reduced fat if you like)
1/2 c. chicken broth(I added this ingredient at the last minute)
shredded mexican style cheese
cooked white rice

Heat pan on medium heat until hot ,add a little olive oil and saute chicken with onion and garlic until chicken is cooked.

Add beans,salsa and sour cream.At his point it was a little thick and I wanted more of a sauce so I add the chicken broth.You don't have to add the whole 1/2 cup just add enough to make it as saucey as you want it.

Stir.Cook until hot,about 1 to 2 minutes.Add salt and pepper to taste and right before serving I added the shredded cheese.
You really can't mess up this recipe just add more or less of what you like.

Soon over hot rice and serve with a side of salad greens,tomato and avacado slices.YUM!
I think the kids really liked it.
Cole is hosting this week's TATT for Andre so stop by her blog at All The Small Stuff to link up there.
Happy Tuesday everyone!
Sorry I didn't post any of the pictures I took of my niece on Friday like I said I would but they didn't want me to post them on here.

Random Thursday

The kids came home last friday and they can't wait to go back to camp next year.
I have to say I'm kinda looking forward to it now that I know they enjoyed it so much and were ok without me for a whole week.
I heard they had awesome services and all the kids came back excited about what God had done for them.
We haven't had a lot going on this week just trying to stay cool inside the house.
It has been so hot the kids don't even ask if they can go outside,not even to go to the neighbors house! Tomorrow I plan on spending the day with my sister and my nieces.My niece is having a 15th birthday party in October and I'll be doing her pictures for the invitations(or at least try).We'll see how that goes cause we'll be doing them outside! We'll start early though,before it gets too hot.

Our church has started a new blog for ladies and our Pastor's wife posted a great blog on friendship.It's called Honorable Vessels and several ladies from our church including myself, take turns posting everyday,mon-fri.so stop by and take a look.
And my friend Kim has started her own blog too!When you have a chance,stop by and say HI! You can find it here.

Hope to post some of the pictures I take tomorrow so I can get your opinions.I wish a certain friend still lived here so she can help me cause she does an awesome job and actually knows what she's doing!
Have a great Thursday,
Monica