1/21/16

Lasagna Soup!!

A positive thing about leaving the dance studio in VA Beach is that I am able to cook for my family again!  I really missed sitting down at the dinner table every night. Cherishing these moments because I now it will not last forever.  BTW, The soup was delicious!  I didn't follow their recipe exactly because I didn't want to use jarred pasta sauce, so I made my own.  I also used campanelle noddles instead of lasagna needles.  Here's the link if you want to try it:

http://www.carlsbadcravings.com/easy-one-pot-lasagna-soup/

1/20/16

We're having family over on Sunday to celebrate our January Birthdays.  I've got a lot to do between now and then, so I started making the cookie cake that Ashlyn requested.  Looking good so far!  Here's the link to the recipe I followed.

http://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/2015/02/16/ultimate-chocolate-chip-cookie-layer-cake/

1/19/16

Today Ashlyn had another ballet private.  Her audition to UNCSA is next weekend, so she is trying to get in as much as she can.  Keeping our fingers crossed!

1/18/16

Made these today!  Yummmmo!  Definitely will make them again.  May even experiment with other ingredients next time.  Try it!

1/17/16

Seems like the entire house (besides me, Thank You Plexus) caught a bug.  Dry air is wreaking havoc on their sinuses.  Today we just took it easy and tried to recover.  Nobody has time to be sick!!

1/16/16

Siri, What is the fastest growing Health and Wellness company in the United States?

Look what appeared!  PLEXUS! I am not surprised.  I have seen the amazing changes Plexus has helped with in people's Heath.  There is something to this company!  The products work!  If you want to know more, drop me a line at chrissy.daniel@gmail.com .  I'll be glad to answer your questions and send you more info.  It'll be life changing...I PROMISE!

www.shopmyplexus.com/chrissydaniel/

1/15/16

Homeschool life!

Ash did her school in bed and had some company.  They look comfy, don't they?!

1/14/16

The temps are dropping which means we needed to turn the heat on and bring the humidifiers out.  I wanted to clean them before their first use of the season so I just boiled a pot of water on the stove in the meantime.  This is what was left over in the pot after boiling the water off!  Yuck!  I knew our water was hard here, but this is just gross!  I'm glad we have our drinking water delivered!!!  

1/13/16

Chason got his cast off today!  BUT...he has to wear a brace for a couple weeks because it is not fully healed yet.  Which means no sports or hover board.  Can't risk reinjury.  :/

1/12/16

Lesson Plans...ALL DAY LONG!  Gotta stay organized though.  One day I'll look back and miss these days!  One day...maybe!

1/11/16

We signed Chason up for Basketball this week and his first practice is tonight.  He did well considering he has a cast on his arm!  Hopefully it will be off this week and he can use it more!  First game is this Saturday!

1/10/16

Hamburg-gate...

I made a trip to Sam's Club last week and purchased some ground beef.  When we got home, I put it in the refrigerator in the garage because the one in the house was full.  Well, I forgot about it until Brian asked what I wanted to do with it!  It had just expired but still looked really fresh.  So we made burgers for dinner and I browned up the rest to freeze.  Thankful for these Ziplock freezer bags!  Nobody has gotten sick yet, so I think we're safe!  :P

1/9/16

A little bittersweet watching our old dance studio compete tonight.  They did great as usual!  ;)

1/8/16

So earlier this week I ran out of my FAVORITE multivitamin.  I thought I had an extra bottle in my stash, but I was wrong.  Luckily I had ordered another bottle a couple days earlier.  It finally came in today!  Everyone should be taking a multivitamin.  Plexus X-Factor is hands down the best out there.  With its patented aloe blend and black currants, it is supercharged and absorbs into your system 300% more than other multivitamins.  If you are interested in learning more about Plexus' X-Factor vitamin, let me know!  I know how you can get it!  ;)

1/7/16

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....

Today we took a field trip to the movies!  I did this once while in high school with the entire junior class to see Huck Finn.  It was the first and last time the school decided to do that!  Lol

We went through all of the Star Wars movies during Christmas break and Brian was finally able to take a day off so we went to see the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie!  Homeschool Field Trip!  It didn't disappoint!

1/6/16

Where there's a will...gotta play minecraft!  :/

1/5/16

It's been a long winter break without dance!  Today Ashlyn was back in the studio with her ballet private.  She has her upcoming audition to UNCSA this month and we needed to take some pictures to turn in.  She had to take a few ballet poses and contemporary as well.  This is one of her contemporary poses.  I love watching her in her element!  :)

1/4/16

It was their semi-annual dentist appointment today!  Yay!  No cavities!

1/3/16

After being in NC for a couple years, we have hopefully found a church we like.  We previously had a dance company contract obligation which kept us from being able to attend church.  It factored into our decision to not continue at that dance studio this year.  We were warmly welcomed on a chilly winter day.  Chason is excited to join their basketball tourney too.  We left with this little gift from the church.  

1/2/16

Clean Slate!  Today we took down all of the Christmas decorations.  Not as fun as putting them up.  Our living room looks so bare now.  Starting the New Year with a clean slate!  

And of course Tucker had to get in on the action!

Happy New Year!

I began a blog several years ago where I posted a picture a day.  As life tends to do, it got busy and I was not able to continue every day.  Life is still busy, but I am going to do my best at blogging our daily life.  If anything, just for the purpose of being able to look back and remember the everyday little things that we tend to forget.  If you are reading this, welcome into our lives....it gets crazy sometimes!  ;)

A YEAR OF GOOD LUCK!

I love to cook and enjoy trying new ways to do so.  So this year for Christmas, Brian got me a pressure cooker.  I'm in the testing stages right now, but I can say that our New Year's Black Eyed Peas turned out delicious!!  If it is a sign of the year to come, things are looking good!  ;)

This is my recipe for Black Eyed Peas in the Instant Pot.  I'm a northern girl who has been transplanted in the south, so I made a few adaptions.  I always try to sneak in a couple extra vegetables here and there for the kids...ie. carrot and celery.

Ingredients:
1 bag of  dried Black Eyed Peas
1 small-Med onion diced
2 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery diced
1 small carrot diced
2 Tbsp diced jalapenos (I used jarred because it is what I had on hand)
1 pkg Smoked sausage, cut up into bite sized pieces
2 pkgs Goya, ham flavored concentrate
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Soak the beans in water overnight

Put 3 cups of peas in the pressure cooker along with half of all of the other ingredients.  Cover the peas with 1-1½  inch of water.  (If you have not soaked your peas, I would imagine you would need more, but I have not tested it yet to tell you.  Cook times would change as well.).   It was my first time using my Instant Pot, and I didn't want to over fill, so I made it in 2 batches.  Close the lid and choose beans/chili.  I put 10 minutes on the timer.  When it was done, I released the steam, removed the peas and started the second batch.  Again, it could probably have done the entire recipe at once, but the Instant Pot is new and I didn't want to over fill.  I also wanted to taste my recipe.  I could add extra spices or whatever it needed to the second batch. 

So there you have it, my recipe for New Year's Black Eyed Peas!