I want to blog more!

I really do. I have so many good posts in my head but nothing is getting out on paper... Well, computer.

Our life has been, well, crazy the past few months. I'll have to give details later but it's just really busy.

Cason is still precious. He says a lot of things, more than I thought he would at this age but then again, I know nothing about this age so he could be really far behind and I wouldn't know it. Thats the way I like it.




He is so silly at bathtime. He is taking swimming lessons and the school says he is very talented and should keep up the lessons. Ok, so it wasn't exactly those words and it's something they say to everyone to keep the money coming in but he loves it so we keep swimming.





I have to keep an eye on this one. He's a climber. Yesterday he climbed to the top of the barstool and I still have no idea how he did it... And I was standing right there. Anyone have a climbing wall they are selling?





We went to houston to visit Julie a few weeks ago and had a great time. Cason isn't a huge fan of car trips but once we get there he's good.

Our camera is broken and has been since march. I have 3000 pictures from the time Cason was born to the time he is 1 year and 3 pictures over the past 6 months. I have cell phone camera pictures but that's it. Anyone selling a camera.

My mom is letting us borrow her camera for our vacation next week. It weighs more than Cason and has more buttons than your average aircraft but I am convinced I can read a few tutorials on the trip down and be a professional photographer by the time we get to lake Travis. If only I had a brother who was a photographer to give me tips...

So that brings me to vacation. We are headed to the beautiful lake Travis to a condo in the middle of nowhere that may or may not have wifi in the community center which may or may not be within walking distance. I can tell you what's not within walking distance... A Starbucks. Hopefully I can still function by the end of this trip. True relaxation isn't true relaxation without a Starbucks... That's what I always say.


A picture to leave you with.

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Dinner tonight

I brought back an old school recipe from a few years ago. It was circulating big time for awhile but I haven't made it or been served it in a year so I thought I would give it a try.
Green Bean Bundles


I realize that wrapping green beans in bacon takes away some of the benefit to eating veggies but if you have someone in your family that's not a veggie fan, this might just work. I don't eat the bacon because I like my bacon practically burned and I feel this is a disadvantage to this recipe because I cannot get the bacon crisp. I even pre-cooked it a bit this time.
I used fresh green beans and blanched them- cooked them in boiling water then immediately dipped them in ice water to stop the cooking. Then make your bundles using 1/2 slice of bacon. Then drizzle with butter, garlic salt, Creole seasoning, and brown sugar. Then bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

I will have to post the rest of dinner tomorrow. I'm tired now!

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On my way to work this morning

This is what I see:




All things are right in the world again.

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Flashback to homecoming

Special thanks to my mom who brought this over so I could store it at my house... I was looking for something to fill my extra storage space.




Oh wait, no, no I wasn't.

I was kind of hoping this was one of those things that got to stay in moms closet until the day I was ready to show my kids what I wore in high school. Apparently, that's not the thought mom had.
I can't bring myself to throw it away but what am I supposed to do with it???

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Oh, yum.

Welcome to another edition of what to stuff in your wonton wrappers. I had to un-freeze the whole package the other day and now I need to use them up. Today we are trying goat cheese, crasins, and walnuts. It it so yummy! I baked it at 350 for about 10 minutes. I sprinkles a pinch (and I mean a tiny pinch) of sugar on the top in hopes that it would melt in the oven and add some flavor to the wrappers. It didn't but they are still good!

Give it a try!




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Bad Cason

Mr. Adventurous decided to climb on the kitchen table. I have found him here a few times. I only took a picture the first time, the other times he gets a spanking. It's dangerous!

How long until he climbs on the kitchen cabinets???

I think it's time for gymnastics.


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Target colors

What a relief to find that the colors in my home are still in style. This is a new display at target and its the same colors I have had for years! I would like to think that I was the pioneer of these colors but that is probably not the case. Either way, I won't be changing my color palette any time soon... Maybe adding some new target accessories!


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Mascarpone, wonton wrappers and other such matters.

Alright, so there were some people who pointed out in the comments section of my last post that while the napoleons sounded yummy, they were not made with typical pantry staples.  Here is the truth, I did have to run to the store for the mascarpone.  I had only used it once before but Giada uses it all the time and I think they use it for tiramisu also so I felt that it would work well in this dish.  The wonton wrappers I did have in my freezer actually.  They are great to keep on hand because they are less calories than bread and you can stuff them and bake them with lots of different things inside.  I stuff them with ham and cheese and make little hot sandwich pockets.  They get crispy in the oven which is nice because a lot of things don't get crispy until you fry them.
I just thought of something else I could stuff in a wonton wrapper.  If it works, i'll post it tomorrow!

Peach Napoleons

I was inspired to make a yummy dessert the other night. Inspired by a restaurant I went to where they had peach napoleons on the menu. I didn't have one but when I saw them on the dessert tray I thought "I can do that". The restaurant used puff pastry for the outside. Puff pastry is one of lifes greatest pleasures but it's loaded with fat and I didn't have any in my pantry. Here's my version:

Slice 2 peaches and toss in a bowl with a tablespoon of sugar and 1/4 tsp almond extract. Set aside in fridge for an hour or so.

Heat oven to 400. Place wonton wrappers on a cookie sheet and lightly sprinkle with sugar. Bake 5 minutes ( or maybe 10, I cant remember).

Mix 1c marscapone cheese with 1/4 c powdered sugar. Set aside.

When ready to serve, place a wonton on the plate, spread with cheese mixture, top with a few peaches. Repeat.

I think it was very yummy and it's an easy, fast, fresh summer treat!


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Hoops?

I found these great basketball shorts for c. They are a little big but that's the best part. I think thats how all the thugs wear their shorts these days.


I took him to church so he could show off his skills. He had to flirt a bit first.



Then he was ready for some dunking.





He tried a little baseball as well. He just wants to have a sport for every season.




I probably shouldn't let him out in this heat!



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New coffee table

I re-arranged the furniture in the living room and needed a coffee table so I moved the Nelson bench in.








Then I moved it out.

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Future gymnast?

Cason loves to climb on anything. The higher the better and he shows no fear!

Here he is sitting on top of our magazine holder.



And the dismount.


He might become a rocket scientist or something too. Here he is playing cranium. It's a very advanced game... Requires higher level language skills. I'm not tryin to brag but... That's a pretty smart kid.



It's possible he might be a magician too.



Is this your card?


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Hotel zaza

We went to hotel zaza to stay the night for a mini vacation. Summer has been a little crazy and with my new teaching schedule my summer break didn't fall during a time we could do anything. So, that brings us to why we really just wanted to get away for the night.

I've wanted to stay at zaza since it was built. It's very themed and fun.




Here's our bed. It was a big room. Not a great view but we didn't pay for a great view.



We had a sitting area with a full size sofa and this chair and this awesome lamp.



There was a desk too!



We went to the Dragonfly restaurant at the hotel. It's rally nice and super yummy and the best part was, Wednesday nights are 1/2 off the entire menu. I said we were celebrating my birthday when I made the reservation so they gave us a dessert of mini cupcakes!



I had a spa treatment- reflexology. It's basically a foot massage and it was pretty much the only thing I could afford. When I got back I found this-



I love my boys.

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Splash time

We got Cason a splash table.


Putting it together was a bit of a challenge.


And once he started playing he loved it!


Taste testing.



Maybe a swimsuit would have been a better clothing option.


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Accessorizing

Just thought this was too cute not to post.


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